MTI Video | Buy at Amazon | Review by Sinferno
FORFEIT is an independent film that aspired to be all things to all people while being filmed on an budget. It's got the protagonist who is psychologically, philosophically gifted but stuck at a mindless, dead end blue-collar job that brings out the worst in him (TAXI DRIVER). It's got a slick TV demigod who reaches through the TV and activates, all but controls a main characters psychosis (REQUIEM FOR A DREAM). It's got a Jesus freak losing his moral compass and offing people in the name of the lord (FRAILTY) and most of all it has fresh original banter between co-workers who hate their job almost as much as they hate themselves (CLERKS). If this hodgepodge of influences and the onscreen offspring it spawns sound attractive to you, I know you will enjoy FORFEIT, but the rest of you should read a little further first.
As the movie starts, Burke (our intrepid anti-hero) has his problems, yet against the other people in his life he comes across like a shining star. His bosses are corrupt and steal money out of his, out of everyone's paycheck. His ex-girlfriend hits him with baseball bats on sight and his roommate doesn't respect his space. Yet as the movie goes on, he proves himself just as bad as they are, not in a master stroke at the end that allows him to ultimately triumph, but throughout the film itself, as he too does terrible things for reasons of hate and illicit gain. This makes it sometimes hard to accept, perchance enjoy as a tale of retribution because the viewer doesn't really know who to root for. While most people enjoy a good revenge fantasy, it ALWAYS helps when the main character has some sense of perfect morality about them, which Burke does not except for minor things such as the fact he doesn't drink alcohol or curse. He does listen to a television evangelist religiously (no pun intended) for guidance, but it isn't long before he stops listening to anything or anyone but the own voices of persecution in his head, either real or implied. While some of his verbal tirades and physical attacks of the others in his life are admittedly amusing at times, it would have been better if he would have portrayed as more of a victim in the beginning, so we might have sympathized, loved the monster he became.
And technically the movie plays like an old USA network original movie only with some swearing. I tried to figure out why this movie was rated R but I could not. A man is shot gunned to death and not a drop blood is shown. He has a turbulent relationship with his ex he still loves (even as he seeks to destroy her) which could have been harvested for a torrid full-frontal sex scene, but it was not. Add this to the fact that this movie about a high stakes life-changing armored car robbery by a man with nothing to lose had exactly one shot fired throughout its duration and you pretty much had a film which made its points through cool, understated subtext rather than actual action onscreen. This screams cheap, made for TV. Moreover, to fully enjoy this film you must not only forgive the scant independent budget, you have to let go of all knowledge of modern forensic techniques as this film makes an episode of Quincy seem like a true crime documentary. For example, you must believe that D.N.A. evidence, forensics technology and the fingerprint database of the government can all be circumvented by an insane angry man with his employer's work key. This being said, much as an armored car robber himself, it did take me for quite an exciting little a ride before I realized I had been robbed of 87 minutes of my life.
| Yucko/Neato Factor: The R rating must have stood for "restraint". |
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| Production Values: They knew the limitations of the budget when they filmed it and they directed it sensibly. Still, some violence, sex or stunts would have been nice for a movie marketed to the testosterone set. |
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| Realism: Onscreen action was understated but solid. Huge lapses of logic and reason regarding Burke's lifelong scheme of ultimate revenge that did not affect it's ultimate completion. |
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| Value for Price: $24.95 for 87 minutes? STOP THIEF! Pull the armored truck over NOW and put your hands where I can fucking see them. I saw it for better prices elsewhere. Add a finger for every five dollars less you can get it. |
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| Plot: When all was said and done, I did enjoy it. Despite its obvious problems this is one sentiment I must admittedly forfeit. |
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