Originally ran June 8th, 2009 as part of CineVegas coverage
Faith in the eyes of revenge and vice-versa. This is the subject at the heart of the thriller GODSPEED. It is an intense thriller that digs much deeper than the tale of violent retribution on the surface, and its themes are such that the film leaves a lasting impression on you long after the credits roll.
Joseph McKelheer plays Charlie Shepherd, a faith healer who lives in the Alaskan backwoods with his wife and young son. Charlie is anything but a saint, and his infidelity and addiction to alcohol are slowly pulling his family apart. All of that become irrelevant one night when a pair of unknown assailants break into his home and brutally murder his wife and son. Their actions seem random, and much of the community seems to go one with their lives.
Six months later, as Charlie is living in the wild questioning everything he once had faith in, a strange girl comes to his front door. She says her father is sick and she needs Charlie’s healing powers to help her and her family. Charlie agrees to go with her further north into the Alaskan wilderness. What Charlie finds there is in no way what he expects.
GODSPEED is written by Robert Saitzyk and Cory Knauf, who also has a leading role in the film. Directed by Saitzyk, the film strikes a chord as a thriller whose level of suspense never loosens. Even in the first half of the film where there is very little in the way of intensity, Saitzyk’s direction has a way of holding a tight grip on its audience.
We know something violent is just around the corner for Charlie, and we may even know where the film is headed at times. Saitzyk’s choice not to hide the identities of the killers from us is, in the end, a good one, as the audience never has to contend with the outcome of that mystery. Yet, there is very little in the way of genuine surprises from the screenplay. The outcome of one character is choreographed from the character’s first scene in the film. Regardless, the direction and cinematography from Michael Hardwick are superb. The film never feels cheap or amateurish.
The acting throughout it top-notch, as well. McKelheer gives a tour de force performance. He is able to evoke a sense of anger and isolation without uttering a word. Simply with a look towards the camera, he is able to tell you everything you need to know about the pain within him. This is something even the most veteran of actors have a difficulty in pulling off. McKelheer has been acting in film for less than a decade.
GODSPEED is a highly enthralling mystery that hardly ever struggles with itself. Late in the game there are some character choices that are had to swallow, and the film never really pulls out any game-changing twists. Despite that, the story is tightly wound around its central themes and the film is impeccably executed.
GODSPEED opens today in New York. It opens in Los Angeles on April 9th and Anchorage beginning April 16th.
