Sympathy (2007, Review)

Published on May 18, 2010 by Steven Tee · No Comments

Director: Andrew Moorman

Cast: Marina Shtelen, Aaron Boucher, Steven Pitchard

Breaking Glass Pictures / Not Rated / NTSC Region 1 / 1.66:1 Widescreen / Dolby Digital 2.0 / 104 Minutes

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There will always be one certain kind of film that will continuously intrigue the mind. These types of films riddle you with post-film questions and I don’t mean the questions we ask ourselves concerning production plot hole enigmas. One of the biggest fascinations for me in particular can be found within the video stock of Andrew Moorman’s 2007 film Sympathy. It makes you wonder how something so compact can have a tremendous impact while most summer blockbuster, lackluster films dwarf your senses to a mindless, pea-sized denseness and you can never be satisfied by gigantic explosions, ten minute car crashes and a series of testosterone-filled gun fights. I say, lets tone that all down and condense it into a single setting with no explosions, no car crashes, hardly any shooting and induce a gut-wrenching story strategically stuffed with deceit, fear and shit-ton of dark undertones – how does that sound? Sympathy is the epitome of the cliche phrase, “big things come in small packages.”

A bumbling bank robber named Trip and his sarcastic female hostage Sara bunk down in a cheap motel room for the night. Sara, just as crafty as she is tough, has to be handcuffed to the bed for Trip’s own safety and peace of mind. An escaped prisoner takes both Trip and his hostage by surprise as he interrupts their getaway plans by breaking into their room and manhandling the gun away from Trip. Now with both of their lives in the hands of a dark persona, Trip and Sara have to rely our their wits and strength to overcome their captor, but each of the three have their own objectives and none of them are who they claim to be.

Director Andrew Moorman has to be given a lot of credit for Sympathy. Not many directors can pull off a nearly two hour film in good form and have it set solely in a single motel room. Of course, the story game can’t survive without it’s consistent and star players. Aaron Boucher completely steals the show with his menacing performance with Dennis, the murderous prison escapee whom is on the run from Johnny Law and has nothing to lose nor has a care for anything in the world. Boucher pops his feature length film cherry with Sympathy and invents a very methodical character. Dennis is cunning and dangerous; two characteristics that make him a believable psychotic. Sara, on the other hand, is also cunning and dangerous, but she also possesses a strong female role even if she is handcuffed to the bed for most of the film. Actress Marina Shtelen tackles the character with aggression and with calculation and though she is bound to the bed, Sara always seems to have the upper hand on both her reckless bank robbing fool Trip and the suave yet ferocious Dennis.

With the story, a simplicity overcomes you but not to the extent of boredom. The story grips you and has you always wondering what is next for Sara? Dennis? or Trip? The undermining between each of them is nonstop resulting in few slow portions of the film and more scheming to be carried out. Sympathy is rather smart as it has you somehow forget the small details that are accurately placed in the plot and become a factor later on in the story and then once these pivotal moments come to the forefront, you slap your palm against your forehead and go, “Wow! How the fuck did I miss that!?”

Sympathy is just that – a mutual relationship between a group of people where if one thing affects one, it affects all the others. Within Moorman’s film, lies is a major and passionate theme among the three and lying is what affects them all causing a downward spiral where only one person will come out on top. Sympathy is a sheer nail biter with many “who”, “what” and “how” questions that will suspend you deeper into that motel room than you ever care to be. Breaking Glass Pictures’ and Vicious Circle’s release is highly recommended. Sympathy took three years to hit DVD, so don’t miss your chance to own it or who knows when you’ll have another one!

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