Greetings readers! Well, I am very excited about this next review I bring to you today, as it represents another opportunity provided to me by the film’s director personally as well as another nod to the power of getting yourself out there via social media, again via Twitter. So I extend a serious “THANK YOU!” to him for reaching out, finding worth in my website, my ideas on independent film, and reviewing endeavors, all of which provided me the chance to view his new project slated for 2015. Utilizing an amalgamation of genres (I can only describe it as a venture into the psychological, paranormal, and supernatural-based thriller), I give you… “Convergence”.
SEE THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Written and directed by indie filmmaker Drew Hall, the story takes us to 1999 Atlanta, GA and into the home of Detective Benjamin Walls (Clayne Crawford), who lives a quiet life with his wife Hannah (Alyshia Ochse) and their newborn daughter, Finnley. Enjoying some leave, Walls is called back into work when an unexpected, catastrophic event occurs at a downtown women’s clinic. Upon arriving and getting the story from his commander, Capt. Miller (Mykelti Williamson), Walls leads a small tactical contingent into an adjacent building to look for evidence to help investigate the event. While in process, a secondary event occurs that lands Walls in the hospital. Not wanting to stay on the sidelines, and despite Miller’s insistence he rest, Walls leaves his room…only to just begin to realize that everything is NOT as it should be.
Initially questioning the only nurse (Chelsea Bruland) he can even find, which leads only to vague and cryptic answers, Walls finally locates Capt. Miller with a small group of other unnamed people, though even THEY too seem to NOT want to divulge any of what is happening either. Walls attempts to call home via the hospital payphone, which mysteriously won’t connect, and then runs into a hospital security guard, Peter “Grace” Grayson (Gary Grubbs), who allows him to try calling home from his office, again to no avail. In the meantime, we initially see an indication that the party responsible for the event earlier is actually IN the hospital, causing no shortage of mayhem, including his methods of “recruiting” new acolytes like a character we see earlier, Jude (Phillip Fornah). Walls has an initial encounter with said person, barely escaping with his life.
Now questioning his entire state of being, seeing shadowy figures in the hallways, having increasingly hostile encounters with people, including the nurse as well as a brutish orderly (Sam Medina), Walls truly realizes at this point he is in a different world than he started out in, with only the unhinged, zealot leader of the force against him, whom we find is named Daniel (Ethan Embry), seemingly holding the answers to it all. And as Daniel makes his own warped motives and intentions clear to Walls, Miller and the others with him, including Ester (Laura Cayouette) and Isaac (Mike Kimmel), ALSO reveal the greater stakes in play and Walls makes a choice to try and make things right for not only himself, but for the others involved who are looking for their freedom from Daniel and his twisted thinking. In the end, secrets are revealed, truths exposed, links to everyone involved established, and topped off with a singular twist that shakes Walls to his core.
Next, my Mind:
In having the privilege of actually speaking with the director Drew Hall via phone after watching the film, we both agreed on what I should and should not put in this review, as I am telling you what people, I found the film in total to be well beyond what I expected, especially in its ultimate theme, which is grace. It becomes an illustration that even in the midst of violence and a group’s twisted theology, we all have the choice to forgive ourselves, forgive others, and FIND the grace in God to be redeemed. There were moments in this film that caused me to tear up…NOT what I would have expected in this type of material.
Clayne Crawford really brings this story of personal, inner conflict and questioning of faith to life in the character of Ben Walls, and his journey to discover it was equally engaging, as the pieces come together over the course of the film, building to a certain number of revelations that filmgoers may figure out early, later, or not at all until its all been presented. Ethan Embry infuses Daniel with the exact kind of “calm”, freaky, menace that makes for the kinds of zealots that truly are some of the worst…the ones who believe their “works” of violence, killing, and deceit are directives FROM God and that it is in HIS service they do these atrocities.
Solid supporting turns are present as well, thanks to veteran character actors Mykelti Williamson and Laura Cayouette. Now, being the genre film it is, viewers need to be aware there are several instances of graphic violence and a certain amount of language present, but it never went OVERBOARD as often these films do, at least in my opinion. The overall look of the film is clean, very well shot, and utilizes the hospital-set surroundings to very good effect, also working well with some of the more supernatural special effects throughout the film.
This effort successfully transcends its genre with potent thematic elements about faith, forgiveness, and grace and can be a sobering reminder about our own choices and humanness in the face of a not always clear, or EASY, road while also addressing the costs that come from NOT taking action vs. the rewards for making the RIGHT choices. A very solid effort in a often tired and unoriginal genre.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
Permalink