Flight of the Concords star, Jemaine Clement stars in Predicament, an adaptation of the Ronald Hugh Morrieson book about Cedric Williamson, a naïve teenager who gets roped into blackmailing adulterous couples by two shady strangers…
Billed as a crime comedy with the tag line: three misfits, one murder – Predicament is the latest offering of New Zealand talent to hit the big screens.
An adaptation of the Ronald Hugh Morrieson book of the same name, Predicament tells the story of Cedric Williamson, a naïve teenager, who gets roped into blackmailing adulterous couples by two shady strangers.
The film is set in a small town in the 1930s, yet is it not a period film as such. In fact what thrilled me the most about this film was the sharp contrast of the vibrant characters against sometimes drab but beautiful sets. Every camera angle, every line of dialogue, and every facial expression was deliberately engaging. There was no looking away from this film and it was all achieved without the fast pace and special effects that I’m used to seeing in blockbusters. My fellow reviewer (a professional videographer) found the film hard to watch without seeing every single shot, but to my untrained eye, it was a visual pleasure.
Flight of the Concords star, Jemaine Clement, was hilarious as ‘Spook’ – a local oddball who’s always cooking up a scheme or two. Likewise, musician Tim Finn, spoke volumes with is facial expressions alone as Cedric’s disengaged father. In fact, I would say that in the most part all the acting was to a high standard, which is most likely a testament to director Jason Stutter.
As far as the story itself is concerned, I found the first third of the movie quite entertaining and comedic. However, things seemed to take a serious turn part way through which was slightly disappointing. Instead of continuing on with the tension between comedy and crime, the film moved towards the ominous tone so typical of New Zealand films.
Overall, I thought Predicament was a unique Kiwi film with a few good laughs, a near perfect cast, and beautiful design elements.
Predicament is in cinemas from 26th August 2010.
By Jasmine Pearson
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