WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
What we’re entitled to, family matters, and moolah. Three concepts that would seem to strike more potential fear into one’s heart than anything else, for they are so often harbingers of chaos amongst those who are supposed to love each other–your own flesh and blood. Yet, when it comes to being confronted with the possibilities of greenbacks being sent our way, the rules fly away and whether we wish to admit it or not, some form of greed takes over. However, having an EVEN split of it all is actually fair and should usher in a sense of worth and amicability between the intended beneficiaries–right?? For a father William, Jr. (Steven David Martin) and his son William III (Kot Takahashi), the means to gain their newly learned about inheritance comes with a simple price–spend a specified amount of time in the same house. At least, that SHOULD be the easiest thing in the world–if the greatest bane of their respective existences wasn’t each other. What could possibly go wrong??
Next, my Mind:
Accompanying a title that carries multiple meanings, dark comedy gets flipped on its head, dealing with family drama is drastically elevated, patience is tested beyond known limits, and the ideas of being stubborn, cantankerous, and just plain vexing all get fully redefined through this 104-minute indie feature film from writer/director/executive producer/cinematographer George Dondero, writer/executive producer Bethany Browning, plus executive producers Mindy Brown, Rick Brown, and Heather Murray. Folks, this is one blunt, raw, no-holds barred foray into the depths of personal and familial disharmony that, as hinted at above, rises well beyond just BEING “another film” about money and the dysfunction it causes between people. While we ARE immersed into circumstances that more than adeptly live up to the film’s moniker, it’s the MANNER in which it all unfolds via the project’s pacing and cleverly employed comedic elements that really sell the story to us in a purposeful, entertaining, highly uncompromising way.
Wasting ZERO time throwing us into the proverbial ocean of maladjusted insanity and severe bad attitudes, the narrative showcases a father and son already at VERY poor odds with each other’s EXISTENCE having to reside with each other for a set timeframe in order to officially collect on an inheritance they are each due, but that one REALLY wants ALL for themselves. What ensues is a virtual storm of manipulation, snarky verbal assaults, ever-increasing (and escalating!) machinations against one another, and persistent downgrading of each other’s worthiness to inherit the half of the money in play that is portrayed with such blatant contrasts in how its delivered, from calm but overtly biting, yet (admittedly) hilariously sarcastic venom to full out instances of explosive vehemence that all effectively hits on both deeply dramatic and almost eerily jocular levels throughout the film, lending itself to eliciting total shock in how much sheer hate is being illustrated but ALSO inducing unavoidable laughs along the way through its intentionally exaggerated indelicacy.
Furthermore, while said events are crazily overblown in order to make the points about a critically damaged relationship that seems to have NO hope of any redemption, what strikes this critic is that the grander principals of just HOW awful we as human beings (much less family) can BE to one another when a given situation gets out of hand, the very notion that general occurrences similar in premise ACTUALLY happen when it comes to infighting over who gets what is scary and something assuredly NOT to strive for, regardless of what’s at hand or to be gained. But, what THEN provides this narrative with its true punch is a fantastically integrated conceptual reveal and associated twist which so deftly tie together everything that’s happening, leading to a finale that is flat out GORGEOUS in its execution and heavily conjecture-laden implications. Trust me, people, you WILL be left thinking after the credits roll and once more find yourself in that place of being jarred and strangely tickled by it.
Martin is an absolutely undeniable, decisively incontrovertible FORCE to be reckoned with here and even this seems like an understatement when attempting to fully appreciate his performance as William, Jr., a man who definitively WON’T be winning “Father Of The Year” awards ANY time soon (or how about NEVER). With what seems like nothing but borderline diabolical glee, he torments his son William III relentlessly as their compulsory time together under the same roof is undertaken to gain the money from his own father’s estate which he must now begrudgingly share with his prodigy. Making William III’s life as hopelessly miserable as possible through alcohol-fueled, devious, conniving acts and verbal abuse in order to drive him away and have ALL the inheritance, will his actions end up backfiring on him when his son gets wise to precisely how to get into his father’s head? The unmitigated vileness William Jr. spills forth in the spiteful manner and sometimes frightening degree of “calmly” portrayed anger he does is SO perfectly enacted by Martin from start to finish that it becomes one of THE most REAL examples of a character you love to hate, with Martin exuding the searing fire of the character’s abrasive, caustic ways amazingly well.
Takahashi likewise shines here with a different kind of burning intensity that is so beautifully executed and treated via a more volatile mix of understatement and controlled fervor paired with ever-building moments of total ire and instability shown through his role as William III, a son who has his life together but then gets crushingly upended upon having to live in the same house as his greatest enemy, his father, to gain money that could re-set his life. Initially believing there is no chance he can successfully manage this, William III time and time again faces potentially crumbling under the persistently merciless onslaught of his father’s attempts to undermine him and make him leave the house, forfeiting his share of the fortune. But, as time and ever-dwindling patience wear away outwardly and inwardly for William III, he soon manages to find a way to keep his head–or does he? Like Martin, even in the instances of real conflict being encountered, Takahashi’s performance carries that underlying jocular approach that accompanies the drama wonderfully as William III’s sanity slowly begins to dissipate then re-form into something else thanks to the actor’s excellent timing, delivery, and body language all working together with high efficiency.
Primary supporting roles arrive first through Saskia Baur as the family lawyer Ms. Galpern whose tolerance of the Wills is, needless to say, less than relished (or even present!) when having to advise what stipulation was put in place in order for the pair to get their money. Gina Alvarado and Emily Tugaw are Ms. Robledo and Ms. Ross, two of Ms. Galpern’s associates who get the unenviable task of being de facto babysitters to the two men to ensure they adhere to the conditions of the will and not break them, though what ELSE they may have to put up with along the way may not quite be worth the trouble. Ilana Niernberger is Sarah, William III’s longstanding girlfriend who may be at the end of her own rope thanks to his lack of focus–or is there another voice in her ear as well? Additional appearances are made by Christine Calson, Bohn Connor, and Bethany Browning.
So, in total, “War of the Wills” exerts its straightfoward, piercing, unapologetic, harsh yet darkly humorous presence with superb quality and credible but purposefully excessive energy, an unflinching portrait of what lengths we go to to obtain that which we covet, no matter the cost. It might also be considered a cautionary tale about the consequence of duplicitous acts and the resistance to finding needed common ground to resolve our struggles with another person, as we might end up discovering that what goes around truly DOES come around. But, at minimum, grab yourself a Dad Pants Beer and enjoy one whopper of an adventure in wholly entertaining irrationality.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
