The trailer for Hamm’s current film “Stolen” left me cold. Granted, it is only a two-minute sampling of the film, but, to me, this independent film looks cluttered and filmed on the cheap. In all fairness, most independent productions tend toward a cheaper look compared to their slick, over-produced, Hollywood film-factory counterparts.
Instead of the frugal, creative charm achieved by the best independent films though, “Stolen’s” indie element seem more distraction than delight. It looks, in other words, like a film that would never quite pull me in; like a film that would make me ever mindful of the fact that it’s an independent film; of the fact that it looks and feels like a production made on the cheap; like a production more worthy of release on some obscure cable channel than at the local multiplex. But I digress. This piece isn’t about the trailer, but rather about the two clips offered below.
And those two clips, short as they are, leave me feeling a bit more positive about “Stolen.” In the first of the two, titled “Clean His Room,” actress Rhona Mitra, playing the mother of a little boy that disappeared a decade earlier and was never found, achieves a nice level of dramatic tension with Hamm, who plays the boy’s daddy. Mitra is trying to convince Hamm to finally accept the fact that, although their son was never confirmed dead, he is indeed deceased. She needs badly to move on; he needs badly to know the truth of his little boy’s fate.
In the second clip, which is even briefer than the first, Josh Lucas plays the father of another little boy who disappeared some 50 years earlier. For me, this clip doesn’t work as well as the first, but it’s likely adequate to provide a decent idea of the film’s narrative style. I still wouldn’t go out of my way to see “Stolen,” but these clips leave the impression that the film, in the least, boasts competent performances. That’s always a plus for any film—independent, tentpole or anything in between.
Also starring James Van Der Beek, “Stolen” is currently playing on video-on-demand. It opened in New York on March 12 and opens in Los Angeles March 19. For more on the film’s story, see IJM’s excellent Trailer Talk piece here.
Source: Trailer Addict
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Reminding me of Changelings! just a bit….
If Jon Hamm is in it, I’m instantly intrigued!
Not sure about this one, it’s not doing much for me at the moment regardless of the level of the acting. I’ll have to take a wait and see attitude.