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The Debt of Maximilian
USA 2019
produced by Saxon Moen, Etsuko Moen (executive) for Saxon Films
directed by Saxon Moen
starring Travis Lee Eller, Mark Valeriano, Angelica Tate, Kate Prendergast, Wali Habib, Canyon Heston, Marie Pilkington, Mikiko Flynn, James Elden, Juan Pablo Castañeda, Maddison Bullock, Jonathan Maniraho, Kyle Kurushima, Jaeme Velez, Noah Franc (as Francisco Madril), Jeff Sully, Matthew Muzio, Robin S. Roth (voice)
story by Saxon Moen, Adrian Moen, screenplay by Saxon Moen
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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Max (Travis Lee Eller) has a good job, a nice house, loving wife (Kate
Prendergast) and adorable daugther (Mikiko Flynn), so you might think
everything's great on his end - but he has a tiny problem, and that's
betting on football. And what makes this problem more than a trifle is
that he's just not very good at it and is constantly losing money. In fact
he's so deeply in debt that he's about to lose his house, and he owes his
bookie Charlie (Wali Habib) quite a bit of money, too. So he tries to
borrow money from everywhere he can, but once he's evened the score with
Charlie, he goes right and places another bet instead of paying off the
mortgage on his house - and that's despite even Charlie telling him to get
a grip on his life.
The only one who really sticks with Max is his younger brother Kyle
(Mark Valeriano), but Kyle has got problems of his own, among them his
girlfriend Nena (Angelica Tate), a recovering heroin addict. Another being
that he's doing drug deliveries for the mob, but has the habit of
embezzling some of the money he gets for a better future for him and Nena
somewhere else. But now it seems the mob has grown wise on him, and in his
desparation, he pretty much forces all the money, a small fortune, on Max
- who of course can't withstand the temptation and places a pretty big bet
with Charlie ... and wouldn't you know it, he wins for a change. Thing is,
since he placed the bet, Charlie has "disappeared", and the
thugs who have been taking over are not people to take over his debts as
well and pay out Max. By now though, Kyle really has to skip town and
relies on Max returning the money - which means Max, if he doesn't want to
see his brother killed, has to get what's "rightfully his", even
if at gunpoint ... and since when was that ever a good idea?
A very fine film that finds just the right balance between social
drama, character study and crime flick, and that works quite as well
because it doesn't try to drive its message home but trusts for the
audience to read between the lines while really working first and foremost
on delivering a good, well-structured and expertly paced story that sees
hardly a dull moment. And thanks to a down-to-earth directorial effort and
convincing performances, the whole thing also remains relatable
throughout, to ultimately grant the viewer good entertainment that's also
food for thought.
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