Purely Joyful Movie!

hyped garbage

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Texas-based filmmaker Kat Candler delivers a great dramatic story with excellent performances by her actors in her feature film 'Hellion', which is based off of her 2012 short film of the same name. I love when director's get the opportunity to tell their full story on screen from previous short, and 'Hellion' is sure to have audiences talking about it for days to come. Director Jeff Nichols, whose previous film was the award-winning 'Mud', served as executive producer for 'Hellion', which is fitting, because both feature a couple of young adolescent boys in serious adult situations. While some of 'Hellion's script has a few problems, it makes up for it ten-fold with its directing and acting.We meet 13-year old Jacob Wilson (Josh Wiggins), as he getting into some serious trouble with a group of friends and is caught by the police. The authorities tell him this is his last chance to be a better teenager before he is sentenced to a juvenile detention center. His father Hollis (Aaron Paul), feels like he has failed Jacob and his younger son Wes (Deke Garner) as well, due to the death of his wife, which has caused him to be emotionally and physically absent from his boy's lives. He spends his days either drinking or trying to fix up his beach house in Galveston so that he and his two sons can start over from scratch, but he never seems to get his act together, which is a trait that is passing down to young Jacob.Meanwhile, Hollis's sister Pam (Juliette Lewis), receives custody of Jacob and Wes due to Hollis's unavailability, which causes a strife between everyone. When Jacob is not getting into trouble with his dead-beat friends or looking after his brother, he is practicing for motor-cross race competition, which seems like the only thing he cares about. But underneath this hardened skin is a gentle soul who want his family back together and not a laughing stock of the small South-Eastern Texas town.What Candler does well here is capture these two boys and their father's unconditional love for one another, even though they don't wear it on their sleeve. And much like the iconic film 'Stand By Me', 'Hellion' shows a dark and beautiful coming-of-age story about brothers and friends sticking together no matter what obstacle comes their way. With all of these character's faults, you still root for them at their lowest points and at their highest points.However, there are a few instances in the script where momentum and tension is not being delivered or built, which causes some pacing problems. There is a violent climatic scene that doesn't pack the punch it needs to, because of how things are handled stylistically and editorially. And the buildup to this moment was almost non- existent.That being said, 'Hellion' delivers on a good story and its excellent performances. I'm sure we will see Josh Wiggins and Aaron Paul winning awards for this soon. And Candler proves she has an incredible eye for capturing the raw and realistic moments of a struggling family who wants a better life. The chemistry between Jacob and Wes is uncanny. This dark coming-of-age film is definitely worth seeing.

Hellion also known as Retribution is a slight tale from writer and director Kat Candler which has slow, unrushed placing.The film chronicles a family on the edge of destruction in rural Southeast Texas. Jacob Wilson (Josh Wiggins) likes heavy metal and loves motocross biking. He and his mates also get into vandalism and arson. Unfortunately for them, for every wrong move they make the police are immediately on to them.His father Hollis (Aaron Paul) is also broken. He his grieving over the loss of his wife, drinks too much and not spending enough time to look after his two children, their house is squalid. Hollis was a one time local baseball star. His actions also brings him to the attention of the police. The behaviour of both puts the younger son Wes at risk and into the hands of the child protection services who have him fostered out to his aunt Pam (Juliette Lewis.)Things take a turn for the worse when Jacob and his gang go to the aunt's house to visit Wes.The film has naturalistic performances from the child actors which is the big plus for the film. Everything is low key, fatalistic even. The only thing sunny here is the weather. The pacing is uneven as the film is a slow burner. There is too much contrivances, the police seem to be always there when there is trouble which is hard to swallow.There is irony to see Lewis being terrorised at the end of the movie from a gang of kids, after all she did her share of terrorising twenty years ago in films like Natural Born Killers.

I had no expectations going into this film; I hadn't even read the plot summary. This was a film that had you shout predictability until what I thought would be the climax, came entirely too early and I realized...I had no real idea what was ahead. I found myself having little tolerance or care for Jacob throughout most of the movie, whereas I was overcome with emotions when it came to little Wes. Jacob ended up stealing my heart however and I was surprised at the director's ability to do this. I noted this as an "explosion" because the build up was serious! It's a common story in much of America, but truly shot in a way that the viewer finds riveting, emotional, and genuine. The acting, from the CPS counselor to Wes, was truthful and accurate. Facial expressions and moments of silence between characters can usually spill the guts on who's new to the game, and I just didn't find that here. A low budget film that will probably not get much viewership, but those that take the time out will not be disappointed.

A heartfelt story delivered in a subtle and effective way reminiscent of David Gordon Green's, JOE, and Jeff Nichols', MUD (I wasn't surprised to see Jeff's name in the credits). Nicely understated, beautifully shot and with a great breakout performance from Josh Wiggins. Aaron Paul avoids what could otherwise be a clichéd father-gone-wrong with a beautifully underplayed performance. The incomparable Juliette Lewis brings a vulnerability to one of the least fragile characters she's ever played and overall HELLION breathes easily throughout its ebbs and flows.Kat Candler did a great job in the director's chair and Aaron Paul should be commended for his support of emerging filmmakers and independent film.