KIN – Review

Last week in my review of SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD I made a case for documentary features that seemingly change direction, when events push a cinema profile down another path. This week sees a similar course recalculation, but in a narrative feature (though the film makers, not fate and destiny are “pulling the strings”). Here’s a story that reeks of “grim and gritty indie”, but involves an element of science fiction and fantasy. Hey, it worked for a little flick called E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL, which starts out as an lost alien fable which then abruptly collides with a suburban family drama of a lonely boy dealing with an absent father. So, is this new mash-up a tasty treat ( to borrow from the old Reeses Cup ad, “You got sci-fi in my coming of age road flick!” “Well, you got…”), or is it one of those craft brewed gravy-flavored soda pops (yeesh)? Since it’s one of the cinema year’s “limbo weekends”, too late for a Summer blockbuster, too early for somber prestige Fall “award bait”, the studios are throwing this combo platter at multiplex screens to see if it “sticks” with the public. And with the somewhat generic title of KIN, this may be a bit of a challenge, though some may favor that mysterious moniker.

The start of this story fully embraces the “double G’s”. The modern day streets of Detroit are very “grim and gritty”, as if snatched from another Michael Moore doc about his home state. Peddling through those streets is pre-teen Eli (Myles Truitt), now suspended from school after getting into a fight. On the way home, he climbs through the busted gate surrounding a decaying warehouse to rip some copper wiring out of the walls. After selling it to a junk dealer, he heads to another empty factory and finds a body. Then several. But they’re all attired in black leather jump suits, and wearing slick futuristic full-head helmets right out of a “shooter” video game. On impulse, Eli scoops up a box-like, hi-tech rifle, which somehow responds to his touch, lighting up a holographic scope. He’s got no time to really fiddle with it, as his Pop, now only parent, construction worker Hal (Dennis Quaid) is due home from work. Eli wraps up his “prize” and arrives in time to greet his long absent older brother, now ex-con, twenty-something Jimmy (Jack Reynor). The homecoming meal is a tad tense, so Jimmy excuses himself to take care of business. This leads to another tense meeting with crime kingpin Taylor (James Franco), who wonders when Jimmy will repay his debt, a whopping sixty grand for keeping the young man “safe” while in the “joint”. Needless to say, Jimmy’s request for a loan from Hal doesn’t go well. This leads to a botched crime, followed by violence and tragedy. Fearing for his brother’s safety, Jimmy picks up Eli, lying about taking a a Lake Tahoe vacation (Dad will join them there as soon as his “big job” is done), and the two are on the road, with Eli’s “acquisition” wrapped with his clothes. Taylor and his army of heavily armed thugs are hot on their tail, along with the authorities. That’s not all. Two helmeted, military types appear at the place where Eli grabbed the ‘weapon’. Using some weird gizmos these “trackes” pinpoint the location of the device. Can the two brothers on the run possibly evade all the forces racing after them? And just what can Eli’s new toy do?

The often convoluted story is strongly anchored by the nuanced, star-making performance by Truitt. His Eli is the film’s beating heart, capturing nearly the complete range of human emotions. At first, he seems to be a confused soul, unable to “fit in’, thinking of himself as a “misfit”. Then, there’s his child-like sense of wonder as he discovers the almost magical “alien” tech. Best of all, might be the vulnerability that Truitt brings to Eli, the most reluctant of heroes. It helps that he has real chemistry with Reynor as his “big brother. Reynor’s endearing as the “bad boy’ trying to set things right, though he’s not capitalized on the charm he projected two years ago as a more memorable sibling, the “pop music Yoda” of the little gem SING STREET. As for the most big name cast mates, well, they seem to be doing variations of previous roles. The always compelling Quaid is the hard-working, salt-of-the-Earth everyman he’s taken on in films and on TV for the last dozen years or so. Franco’s the scuzzy, hare-trigger low life he played as Jason Statham’s nemesis in HOMEFRONT (minus the bayou twang with a touch of the “Alien” from SPRING BREAKERS). And what of the talented Zoe Kravitz, “working the pole” once again (just like the “Angel” of X-MEN: FIRST CLASS) as yet another “exotic dancer with a heart of gold” (replacing the old cliche of the “soft-hearted” hooker)? Her role seems to be a plot device, her “rescue’ setting the stage for a big action set piece, then frolicking in a trite “road trip” bonding montage. Let’s hope she leaves these “eye candy” characters in the past. Another gifted actress, Carrie Coon, gets a big credit, but she merely arrives in the last minutes as a typical, “tightly-wound” FBI agent, who barks out orders . These screen vets deserve better.

First time feature directing duo Johnathon and Josh Baker (who also provided the script with Daniel Casey) expand on their short film “Bag Boy” as they attempt to merge different styles. Their best efforts arrive early, as we’re introduced to the hard-scrabble, “barely gettin’ by” life of Eli, Hal, and Jimmy. Their working class life feels “right” on screen. This makes the shift to the SF elements so jarring. For fans of the action genre, it feels like an eternity before the “pay off” of the weapon’s firepower. Eli wrecking havoc with his “blaster’ is fun for a bit, but the transformation from lonely street survivor to “space age” sharpshooter makes the story shift too abrupt. Then there’s the tough guys antics of Taylor’s crew, from public urination to an all-out attack on a police station…in Nevada…riiiight…the same heavily armed protectors of casinos…uh uh. Too much of the final act plays as a ludicrous parody of ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, mixed with more TERMINATOR homages (Eli even plays the arcade game based on that iconic flick). Throw in some time travel “mumbo-jumbo”, and the film collapses on itself like a flimsy house of cards (or 1990’s video tapes and game cartridges). Maybe it all played better as a short subject, because at just over 100 minutes KIN, and our interest, is stretched pretty thin.

2 out of 5