Merry Christmas, everyone! Today, I decided to review a film that was released last month and surrounds itself around Santa Claus and the holiday itself in an odd, realistic yet somewhat lighthearted way in its dark comedy approach. "Fatman" is about Chris Cringle, the aforementioned Santa Claus who lives in Northern Alaska with his wife, Ruth. Chris has became quite miserable lately due to an increasing number of naught children every year and has put himself in financial trouble. Forced to sign a contract where his workshop builds parts for a new fighter jet for the U.S military, he is unaware that one of the bad children he sent coal this year has hired an assassin who holds a grudge on old Saint Nick for similar reasons. From the premise alone, you might expect it to be a raunchy, R-rated comedy with dark humour all spread throughout with countless swearing and over-the-top situations. Well, the film actually keeps itself somewhat rooted into the story it creates for itself with a sense of realism, humbleness and a bit of dark, over-the-top ideas. The tone is surprisingly a bit on the dramatic side as aside from the zany premise and characters, the focus on Chris having to regain his positivity is taken quite seriously and feels rather genuine. The downside is that the film is honestly not that funny. While the characters can be enjoyably over-the-top and there are some scenes that are fun to watch in terms of the scenario and characters involved, it's not really trying to make you laugh out loud. I personally don't mind too much, but I can understand how this can be a problem, especially given the insane premise.
Mel Gibson as Chris Cringle is fantastic and one of his better performances in recent years. What I love about his portrayal of Santa is that he doesn't go over-the-top or extremely mean-spirited with the performance. Gibson plays it as if it is the usually jolly Saint Nick that has been feeling more depressed as of late. There's so many great lines and details in the portrayal that this is the same Santa we have become accustomed to who is being tested with reality and it's really all thanks to Gibson's rather sincere and honest performance. Say what you want about the actor/director, but he's a great actor at the end of the day even when he phones in some performances in recent years. Surprisingly, Gibson isn't the only great performer of the film as Walter Goggins does an amazing job as Jonathan Miller, the assassin who is hunting down Chris as part of his job and a personal grudge with the big man as he got on the naughty list from a broken home. This is perhaps the actor's best role to date as he gives this character so much depth and personality to an otherwise heartless killer. From his hobby of collecting toys made from Santa's workshop, to how he enjoys taking care of his pet hamster, to his wide range of quirks and almost-human traits of interacting with people, Goggins proves to be an extremely capable actor by making you believe that he's this one of a kind assassin who is extremely capable, but has an extreme range of character that's goofy but realistic. Aside from the two lead actors, you also have a good supporting cast to boot. There's Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Ruth Cringle, Chris's African-American wife who supports her husband as an adviser and loving partner, Chance Hurtsfield as Billy Wenan, a spoiled kid who wants to win or get what he wants every time regardless of moral actions, Eric Woolfe as Seven, the elf foremen who runs Santa's workshop, and Deborah Glover as Anne Marie, Billy's grandmother who is unaware of his grandson's heinous actions. While the aforementioned and background characters and actors do a great job in terms of their grounded nature or zaniness, it's Gibson and Goggins who carry the film's enjoyment and quality thanks to their excellent performances.
Eshom and Ian Nelms are two brothers who wrote the script for "Fatman" almost fifteen years ago and having to shop with the project for more than ten years while also marking said film as their directorial debuts. While it's a bit unfortunate that all of these years made the film released in the worst year possible to release a film of any sort for financial gain, the Nelm brothers should be proud that their film came out as great as it did. For a directorial debut, the brothers know how to not only make a film, but pace it perfectly for a first-time viewer. The first act of the film tries to hide the more magical aspects of Santa Claus that it makes you wonder what the direction of the character is going to be, which makes the reveal of the elves and the more magical elements of the character a bit surprising considering the grounded first act. I also love how the lore of the character and elves are either evolved due to the modern reality or kept childishly silly. The film itself was shot around the city of Ottawa, Canada's capital city and the city where I live. Aside from seeing some aspects of my home in a movie, it does lead to a few awkward mistakes such as Miller exiting a made-up convenient store with a Tim Horton's coffee cup or seeing a sign displaying Almonte, Ontario despite the setting being in Alaska. Despite these goof-ups, Johnny Derango's cinematography is really good from the shots inside Miller's car to the wide, landscape shots to even a few long takes. The music by the Mondo Boys however proves extremely forgettable, aside from the decent opening music in the beginning. It's hard to make a memorable, original score for a Christmas movie and this film is no exception. The last thing to take note would be the climax where Miller finally tracks down Chris's address and starts going on a shooting spree. While it's somewhat generic on the surface, I do like the use of blood contrasting the white snow and on Miller's white jacket along with a decent show-down between Chris and Miller. It helps that the actors were committed to work in the freezing temperatures. While the film does falter a bit from occasional amateur mistakes and a forgettable original score, the Nelms did a great job on their passion project and I hope that the film will pan out to be considered a financial success.
"Fatman" is not your typical R-rated dark comedy and that's where the film shines. While it's lacking in the laughs, the score by the Mondo Boys is unmemorable, and there can be an amateur mistake in regards to shooting location and an odd cut here and there, that's really all the film has to burden. "Fatman" offers a nice story that offers a twisted spin on the Santa mythology, a down-to-earth tone that allows actual drama to flourish alongside a wacky scenario on occasion, Gibson's portrayal as Santa Claus/Chris Cringle shows that he's a great character actor despite controversies in his career, Goggins marks the best performance of his career as Miller, the side cast is fairly strong with characters being the right amount of dramatic or hammy, Derango's cinematography is solid with a variety of shots that manage to be very effective, and the direction of the Nelms brothers showcase their talent in making some neat action moments, allowing the city of Ottawa to be used for filming, and being able to misdirect the viewer with clever set design and handling of pace and passion. While the title of the review seems a bit sarcastic in how I'm asking this question for a film like this, I actually believe that it kind of is. Sure, there's a few issues here and there and it's a hilarious film, but the holiday background and the unique depiction of Santa tied to a fantastic actor and clever script has warrant it for me to watch every Christmas from here on out.
Verdict: 8/10. A great dark comedy that excels in the drama compared to the laughs. Please check out as soon as you can to support the film and the Nelms brothers after their long voyage in bringing their passion project to life!
No comments:
Post a Comment