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DVD Gutter King
 Rating: 4.3 Genres: Action | Drama | Thriller Director: Keith Alan Morris Writers: Keith Alan Morris Stars: Zeb Crown, Casey Clark, Erica Ramirez |
| Storyline Gutter King is an urban coming-of-age fight drama about a tough street kid just released from the Juvenile Department of Corrections. His new foster father tries to channel the boy’s rage into the world of amateur bare-knuckle brawling, but his jealous brother has other plans. Written by admin |
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| Plot Keywords: violence | |
| Details: Country: USA Release Date: 2010 (USA) |
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3 comments
I rented this on the off-chance it would be a cool little indie film, but was disappointed. I'm not usually one for technicalities or theory when it comes to film and storytelling, but there were so many holes in the story I couldn't help but notice: what was the message? What was the reason for this film being made? It concluded with a weakly developed love story that didn't really say much, so you're sitting there thinking: so what? It was underdeveloped, so I don't care.
Even though, in general, the production value was at a great standard sometimes, every now and then it would fall flat. The worst part about it was that it could have been resolved. There's a phone call, for example, where the sound goes all weird, and it feels like they were either being too experimental, or couldn't be bothered solving the problem. As well as this there were dodgy camera angles. At parts a character would be nearly face on to the camera, and it just threw me off. I kept thinking: are they supposed to be looking at me? Even the fight sequences, which I thought the film would save itself with, weren't anything special.
Also, the soundtrack was…weird. I could see what it was trying to do, but it just didn't work. It was thinking more about being different than appropriate.
There were some good moments. I liked the opening, especially the little twist in the first scene. A couple of more interesting twists followed, with some good acting and, at times, direction. Will was a charismatic lead, and his relationship with Paul was quite interesting. Bob had some nice moments as well, and Bebe was good, considering what she had to work with.
Unfortunately though, these elements didn't save the film. Whatever it was trying to be, or do, simply didn't work.
I can see why a lot of people didn't like the movie. The action scenes are not what many are used to from other movies (especially those with higher budgets). You can also criticize the movie for it's lack of focus on the story part. All legit remarks to be made. But I don't think the main focus was to tell an underdog story. The main goal here was to tell what is happening with kids that get out of jail. Also the circle of violence (which especially gets a nod at the end with the voice over) that seems to be unbreakable.
All those things make this an interesting little movie, that obviously does not have the visuals nor the money to be fancy. But it doesn't get too dirty either (something you might have expected). It tries to be subtle about its philosophies and its world-view. Something I really liked a lot. You have to decide if that is something you want to see or not
Personally, I loved the camera angles. The use of lighting and such really kept me engaged in the film. I liked how there was a mix between action and fight scenes and the personal side of it… like Will's relationship with Bob, Paul and Bebe. I think not going into super specific details about Bebe's home life really cast a certain air of suspense in the film, it let my mind wander and I liked that about it. I loved how the soundtrack worked for the film… it was a little different and not what I'm used to, but that made it hit a really cool new level for an action film. Overall, I was very pleased with this film and would definitely watch it again.