This review was written during the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes of 2023. Without the efforts of the writers and actors currently on strike, the film covered here would not exist.early in The finest typesAspiring hunter Charlie (Toby Wallace) He asks why the other guys on the crew keep saying “best kind.” Its use seems indefinable, as it is constantly used in different contexts, making it difficult to identify, and even the boat he owns. Tommy Lee JonesWe will learn that Ray is called “Finestkind.” We are told that a word can be whatever you want it to be, that it can change from one sentence to another, that what matters is morphology and intent. The finest typesSo, it’s the perfect title for this movie, a casual mix of different ideas, dramatically raised stakes, and full of actors who deserve better.
Charlie has recently dropped out of college and while his father (Tim DalyDetermined to attend law school, Charlie wants to follow in his brother Tom’s footsteps.Ben Foster) and became a fisherman. On his first voyage, Charlie and his brother’s boat are blown up, leading to their rescue, but this makes Charlie even more determined to leave college behind and become a fisherman.
Losing their boat sets this crew on a ridiculous path that includes another trip failure (maybe Charlie just had bad luck?), a ridiculous run-in with a group of drug dealers, and one of the strangest casting choices ever made. Jenna Ortega She plays Mabel, a drug dealer who begins a chemical-free relationship with Charlie. As problems mount for this crew, they make poor choices The finest types Unintentionally laughable as their fate goes from bad to worse.
“Finestkind” has its charms…at first
despite of The finest types Melodramatic and corny from the top, there’s something charming about watching these two brothers grow close through the tough business of hunting and the camaraderie that grows from this team. But the script is by the writer and director Brian Helgeland (For which he was nominated twice for an Academy Award Los Angeles Confidential And Mysterious river) keeps finding ways to make this story go in more goofy and goofy directions. While Helgeland wants us to trust Tom as the leader of this crew, it’s hard to understand Why He’s still in charge when a boat sinks, risks losing all their jobs with a ridiculous trip into forbidden waters and his team gets mixed up with a group of heroin dealers in the third act. It’s as if Helgeland kept trying to make this team wallow in its mistakes, without worrying if any of them made sense.
Helgeland also packs The finest types Filled with lines that are meant to be profound, but ultimately come off as goofy, like the repeated plea, “You live, you die. It’s what you do in between that matters,” or Tommy Lee Jones’ meme-worthy delivery of “I’m your fucking father.” These moments are presented as profound statements, but in reality they are the closest thing to that The finest types There has to be a punch.
while The finest types They have a solid cast, they’re just completely wasted or gone horribly wrong. Toby Wallace has a golden retriever-like quality, but there’s no real reason to care about his journey – let alone why he’d want to drop out of college to seemingly be a bad omen for so many ships. Foster may be one of the most underrated actors of our generation, but there’s nothing here to showcase his talents. While we get hints of deeper pain, he’s mostly just a sullen, quiet captain who seems to make the worst possible choice at every turn. Likewise, Ortega shows that he has a darkness that we can never delve into, instead, The finest types Her transformation into more than just Charlie’s girlfriend – who also happens to be a drug dealer is incredibly unconvincing.
Tommy Lee Jones is arguably the actor who emerges from the shipwreck barely unscathed, especially when things start to fall apart. truly It hit the fan, and had some of the sexiest moments in the movie. One of these scenes pits Jones in a confrontation Klein CrawfordPete is the drug dealer, and watching this dynamic is one of the few engaging parts of the entire film. Jones still gets unfortunate narrative choices and questionable line readings, but his presence alone makes up for many of the film’s problems.
The text is what really destroys the “best kind.”
But again, the reason behind these characters and The finest types In general it does not work due to weaknesses in the text. These motivations don’t make sense, the characters aren’t well defined, and the deterioration of this narrative is pointless. This cast is trying their best to make this drama work, but they are stuck in a story that does them no favors. A cast this strong should have a script worth their time, and The finest types Simply no.
It’s a shame too The finest types It does not prioritize the brother bond between Charlie and Tom, as this attempts to be the heart and soul of the film, but it gets completely lost along the way. Watching this crew get to know each other, as Charlie learns about life at sea – all while finding a connection he didn’t get from college – makes for some of the most beautiful moments in the film. However, the crew eventually becomes little more than various weaknesses that can be exploited, and the relationship between the brothers never has the weight it perhaps should have, especially when this crew begins to face shaky waters.
The finest types He has all the right pieces to make an interesting drama, but Helgeland just can’t bring it together in a way that isn’t over-the-top or completely ridiculous. Even the result is great Carter Burwell Bloated and annoying, it highlights the dramatic beats in an awkward and harsh way. The finest types It’s a mix of ideas, shifting bets, and bad choices that should have been made, but instead, sink.
evaluation: C-
The Big Picture
- The finest types It is an ordinary film that mixes different ideas and raises the stakes, but in the end it fails to present a coherent story.
- Strong cast The finest types It is wasted and underused, with Toby Wallace’s character lacking a compelling journey and Ben Foster’s talents underutilized.
- Script for The finest types It’s hugely weak, with nonsensical motivations, poorly defined characters, and a reckless deterioration of the narrative. The film fails to prioritize the brotherly bond it attempts to establish.
The finest types It premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and will come to Paramount+ later this year.