Deadfall

Year: 2012
Genre: Thriller
Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky


Plot: A pair of siblings on the run after a casino heist cross paths with a former boxer fresh out of prison and his parents, while being chased by a young deputy sheriff.


The gist: Deadfall has all the ingredients necessary to make a tense filled thriller. We have a brother and sister team of robbers fleeing after a heist, a former boxer just released from prison trying to make it home to his parents for Thanksgiving, and a young female deputy sheriff trying desperately to prove herself to her sheriff dad. All this taking place during a snow blizzard.

But sadly, it just falls short of what it could have been. Director Stefan Ruzowitzky starts it off well enough by putting his characters through the wringer and slowly develops their back stories and then getting them to cross each other. However, he drops the ball in the final third as it comes to an unsatisfying conclusion. It's sad because the potential is there.

See, the two siblings have a somewhat incestuous relationship, the brother being particularly violent and his sister being vulnerable. The boxer wants to make things right with his folks, but his dad still seems hard on him. The deputy sheriff is continuously humiliated by her own dad, who would rather work with his male deputies than his own daughter. One of these subplots was well handled, but the other two were either easily resolved or simply ignored by the film's end.


The good: The cast perform well enough, with Eric Bana standing out as the violent brother who would save a child from danger but doesn't mind killing cops. Sissy Spacek and Kris Kristofferson also do well as the boxer's parents, so does Charlie Hunnam as the boxer. The blizzard also deserves credit by almost being a character of its own.

The bad: Olivia Wilde is good in her role as the sister, but her character isn't something we haven't seen before. Kate Mara is underused as the deputy sheriff, which is a damn shame. And as mentioned, the ending and wasted potential.


Verdict: Deadfall is a good movie, but thanks to the wasted opportunity, it's like watching a rental movie or something on TV. Still worth for one view though. (6/10)