By Mac Spain
This week I’m gonna be reviewing the film ‘Green Room’ for you, which has been out for a little while now, but as an independent movie, it’s been rather tricky to get a hold of.
Now ‘Green Room’ is about an Arlington punk rock band who we join midway through their tour of the pacific northwest and up to that point things haven’t been going very well for them, which mostly comes down to them having a lousy manager. They play one last gig where their manager has promised them a crowd and it’s not until they arrive that they realise it’s a neo-Nazi skinhead bar, so not the friendliest of places…
They manage to make it to the end of their set without being chased off stage by angry fascists, but it’s when they head backstage and end up bearing witness to a murder. That is where the trouble starts…
‘Green Room’ boasts a fair few big names for a film of its stature, one of which is Anton Yelchin, who sadly passed away earlier this year and the leader of these neo-Nazi skinheads played by none other than the legendary Patrick Stewart. Coincidentally both these actors have their own history with the Star Trek franchise, so I’ve no doubt that any trekkies watching this will get a real kick out of that.
To be honest all the performances had their place, my one issue with this film is more to do with its writing rather than the acting and that is one big issue indeed.
One word that a lot of critics tend to use when describing an actor’s performance is ‘subdued’ and that can at times seem like a rather vague description. I’d say Ryan Gosling in 2011’s ‘Drive’ is a perfect example of how to successfully deliver subdued performance, as his character speaks little to no dialog.
In most films that’d just come across as being incredibly awkward, but he really sold it for me. He was a nice enough guy, but there was a real sense of mystery about him which made the film’s gradual descent into chaotic spouts of violence all the more engaging. In ‘Green Room’ it’s more the characters themselves that feel subdued and held back, making us the audience unable to make a connection with any of them.
The tension from this film is clearly supposed to come from them desperately struggling to escape the venue, but for me all the tension was diminished because I didn’t care one way or the other what happened to them and it’s a real shame. As someone who does like to dabble in the punk rock genre from time to time and with thrillers being my favourite kind of movie.
I went into this thinking there was no way it could let me down, but I unfortunately stand corrected. A thriller when it’s done right can be an unbeatable movie experience and while this had the shock factor of being dark and grotesque, it wasn’t quite powerful enough to be say, chill inducing.
I’d definitely say it’s worth a watch so you can form your own opinion, but for me, it wasn’t quite the hidden gem various other reviews will have you believe.
