Movie Review: Undertow

The notion of the “American Film-Artist” sounds a bit oxymoronic. The independent fever of the late 80’s/early 90’s has subsided into a flurry of productions that essentially share the same qualities as the big major Hollywood studios, only on a smaller scale. Even in the independent realm, films are created with the sole intent of telling a good story, or more importantly, a strong narrative. The screenwriter writes the story which (ideally) has a solid three-act structure, while the director’s main job is to merely “add the pictures.”

Filmmaker David Gordon Green does more than just “add the pictures.” In fact, if one were to regard his earlier efforts (”George Washington” and “All the Real Girls”), his films are ABOUT the pictures. Green is not so much interested in just “telling a good story” (though he ultimately does so), but rather he seems more drawn to moments, gestures, ambience…qualities that most narrative-driven films usually leave to the way-side. His films have a quality about them that negates typical American film structure. Like Terrance Malick, Green has almost a European sensibility in filming characters and their relationship to their environment. Now comes Green’s latest effort, “Undertow,” his first “narrative-driven” film, a film that explores the fraternal violence that shatters two generations of men.

To say that, ultimately, “Undertow” is a slightly disappointing film is almost an absurd, nonsensical utterance - I actually feel ashamed for having such a feeling. For if I were to not have seen Green’s earlier work, and perhaps, see “Undertow” first instead, I would be head-over-heels in love with it. I would have totally cherished every minute lensed by the brilliant cinematographer Tim Orr. I would marvel in how Green juxtaposes the rusty, dilapidated houses and other metal wastes left by industrial factories with the rural lusciousness of the Southern landscape. I would have been enamored with Green’s naturalistic approach to dialogue, dialogue that has the poetry and lyricism of characters from a William Faulkner novel.

Even though those events did happen, and overall, “Undertow” as a film experience was immensely satisfying, why do I hesitant in explaining its power? When someone asks the simple question of “Is it a good film,” why do I falter? As a narrative film, “Undertow” was a bit predictable, a quality that was absent from Green’s earlier work. Even the pacing, particularly the chase sequence in the third act, became a noticeable concern, due to the film operating on the (simple) dynamic of a bad guy bent on chasing and killing the good guys. When the film takes a break within the chase, the audience is not given any more insight into the bad guy (Uncle Deel played by Josh Lucas) or the brothers who are on the run (Jamie Bell and Devon Alan). At one point, the brothers come across a female drifter whose sudden appearance into the story seemed superfluous and rather questionable. I was incapable of discerning her thematic significance to the story, and because of that, her presence and interaction with the brothers slowed down the film considerably.

Yet despite those flaws, “Undertow” has the mark of a mature, original artist, and David Gordon Green successfully fills in the void that is so desperately needed to be filled in the American film canon.

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