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Roulette
USA 2012
produced by Laura Myers, Brian Andress, Dan Schepleng, Mike Baldwin, Corey Williams, Erik Kristopher Myers for Four-Fingered Films, J65 Productions, Meridian Media, Interpol Films, GoldenTiger Productions
directed by Erik Kristopher Myers
starring Mike Baldwin, Will Haza, Ali Lukowski, Michelle Murad, Taylor Lee Hitaffer, Jan-David Soutar, Troy Russell, Brian St. August, Mark J. Kilbane, Frank B. Moorman, George Stover, Leanna Chamish, Gavin Peretti, Amy Freedman, Darren Rudham, Frank Lama, Eileen del Valle, Will Matter, Jenna St. John, Laura Myers, Lauren Davis, Megan Therese Rippey, Mary Jane Oelke
written by Erik Kristopher Myers, music by Dan Schepleng
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Dean (Mike Baldwin), Richard (Will Haza) and Sunshine (Ali Lukowski)
meet in a run-down apartment for a few rounds of heavy liquor with only
one intention, to then kill themselves in a game of Russian roulette
that's only ended when all of them are dead. The three of them don't
really know each other, they've just met in a suicide prevention group,
and seen something in one another that would assist them in their
respective suicidal tendencies. They play their Russian roulette according
to rules Dean has laid down ... and their attempts to shoot themselves get
more and more drawn out due to failure, during which they all have the
opportunity to reflect their past:
- Dean's wheelchair-bound and thinks it's due to MS, a condition that
seems to have manifested itself around the time he has proposed to his
girlfriend Zoe (Michelle Murad), but one specialist after the next
tells Dean there's nothing really wrong with Dean's legs or anything
else physically, and it might be his psyche - as he has suffered from
severe depression in the past. This takes a toll especially on Zoe,
who does everything to support him (also financially, as he's unfit
for work), but it's getting them nowhere ...
- Richard has taken to drinking after he was passed over at the last
promotion, and this gets more and more out of hands both at works and
at home, and all his attempts to make things better just have the
opposite effect, until things get completely out of control ...
- Sunshine is already in her mid-twenties when she has her first date
with Leon (Jan-David Soutar), and the two almost immediately fall in
love - and it's not long before he, her first lover ever, impregnates
her. Now he's all gentleman about it and cares for her as best she can
- but she has been brought up by a deeply religious father (Frank B.
Moorman) who expells her for having a baby out of wedlock, which
leaves her shattered, which is only augmented by the effects of
pregnancy. It's not long before all of this takes her down a dark road
...
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It's only eventually that our three suicidal strangers find out their
stories might be somehow connected after all, and they're caught in a game
where death isn't the worst that can happen to them ...
Now I might have to warn you, do not watch Roulette when you're
feeling down, this is not an uplifting film, and it might touch on some of
the darkest thoughts you might have. That out of the way, Roulette
is much more than just a depressing piece of film, in fact it's rather
engagingly told with the emphasis on storytelling and creating the proper
atmosphere (which varies from story to story), plus fleshing out its
characters to make them characters one can sympathize with and/or hate (at
least temporarily) rather than just feel sorry for - which is of course
also thanks to a great ensemble cast. And the extended finale, in which
the three stories are gradually woven together and the framing story is
finally explained really deserves an honorable mention all on its own.
Again, not an uplifting movie ... just a very excellent one
nevertheless!
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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