In the
Electric Mist
It
is interesting the turn that the movie business has taken in the last couple
of years.
Until recently, straight-to-video films were generally the province of
cheesy comedies, low-rent horror films or in-name-only sequels to long-dead
franchises. Now, however, it is becoming more and more common to find
movies with big-named stars, good pedigrees and relatively impressive
budgets slinking directly home for viewing.
In the Electric Mist
would have never been a
blockbuster – and honestly it doesn’t deserve to be – but it has an
extremely deep and interesting cast, a well-respected director, a
complex-and-at-times-incendiary plot and the film is based on a best-selling
novel. It’s pretty hard to believe that it didn’t warrant any type of
significant theatrical release in the US. (Apparently it did get brief runs
in countries like France, Germany and Greece.)
However, here it is, quietly being released on video with almost no fanfare
or anticipation. There was anticipation built up for the straight-to-video
likes of Space Buddies – which starred some third banana supporting
actors from the sitcoms Coach, Hannah Montana and The Drew Carey
Show. So how come a Southern-gothic mystery touching on serial killers,
old-South lynching, organized crime and Hollywood excess – starring a
respected and diverse cast that includes Tommy Lee Jones, Peter Sarsgaard,
John Goodman, Ned Beatty, Mary Steenburgen, legendary indie director John
Sayles and singers Levon Helm and Buddy Guy – has barely made a ripple?
In the Electric Mist
does not deserve that
fate, though it is not as good a movie as it wants to be, either. The story
is sometimes confusing, it works a little too hard to fit together disparate
threads and doesn’t always work hard enough to explain the motives of the
characters.
For
example, the main case for Louisiana sheriff Dave Robicheaux is a series of
mutilated women. Even when the film explains who did the killings, they
never really explain why. Did the murderer have a real motive? Was he just
generically twisted for the purposes of the plot? We never really know.
But
we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. Robicheaux is a recovering
alcoholic who left the New Orleans PD to work the small parish of New
Iberia. In his sleepy little town two cases appear to dovetail together –
the mutilation of a 19-year-old prostitute and the recently discovered body
of a black man who had been shot 40 years earlier – a killing the Robicheaux
had witnessed as a young boy.
Add
in a Hollywood movie being made in his town and the return of his long-time
nemesis, a local mobster with the decidedly unintimidating nickname of “Baby
Feet” (John Goodman) – and Robicheaux has his hands full.
Robicheaux also periodically gets “visitations” from a long-dead Confederate
General – played with courtly honor by 60s singer Levon Helm of The Band –
who gives Dave advice on the case. It’s supposed to be quirky, but honestly
it’s a little perplexing. Is the General real? Is it a hallucination? Is
Robicheaux going crazy?
In the Electric Mist
has a quirky pace and
cadence and some intriguing characters – but frankly the storyline is a
little more complex than it need be and many of the conclusions are kind of
obvious. (I knew who the eventual central bad guy was the first time he
appeared on screen). Also, the explanations can be a little rushed or just
a little too coincidental.
Still, In the Electric Mist is mostly a satisfying-if-imperfect old
fashioned cop thriller, with just enough quirks and Cajun spice to make it
stand out.
Alex Diamond
Copyright ©2009 PopEntertainment.com.
All rights reserved. Posted: February 28, 2009.
