The old adage “crime does not pay” comes to dark fruition in the film Villain, a warning guide for anyone not able to escape the grips of the criminal underworld. Most films centered around an antihero do their best to glorify and celebrate the fast and illicit lifestyle from which they have made their name. You see slick montages of the “good life” complete with big houses, flashy cars, obscene amounts of money, and the feeling of being untouchable. But this story of a newly released former criminal returning back to his old haunts takes a different angle which plays as a morality tale. Every action begets a consequence and eventually old mistakes never stay in the past; Karma is an equal opportunist when dealing from her deck of cards and sadly, she strikes even when someone is working with the best of intentions.
Eddie (Craig Fairbanks) is, on the surface, an upstanding man who looks to move his life into a more responsible direction after being in prison for a lengthy sentence. Coming back to his old neighborhood, he comes to find that his brother Sean (George Russo) has gotten in deep trouble with a crew of nefarious figures that has put him and his bar in deep danger. Even if Eddie wanted to live life “the right way”, he finds himself in circumstances that forced his hand into his bag of same old mistakes that landed him in the correctional system. Escape is not an option - just when Eddie finds himself putting the right foot forward, the game unsheathes its claws and pulls him right back in. When you have lived a life furnished with dirty dealings and misdeeds, that way of life becomes a curse more than a source of pride.
Fairbanks displays all the right tools of the trade to be a compelling character who gives us a view into this world of mayhem. I couldn’t help but see parallels between him and Al Pacino’s doomed character in Brian De Palma’s Carlito’s Way. What good does it do to live the straight and narrow life when circumstances around you do not allow it? Fairbanks doesn't give off the aura of a bad guy who wants to be the bad guy, but rather a guy who knows that he is trapped and destined to be a walking disaster, bringing chaos and tragedy to anyone who comes into his orbit. The supporting characters could have been better fleshed out so that Fairbanks isn’t carrying this story on his own, but he is the big draw of the experience.
While I think the film does well in bringing something different to the subject of criminality, it does feel like something that has been replayed many times.The idea of having a deadline to pay back some malicious crime lord a large token of currency has been recycled over and over again. Action moments suffer from uncontrolled editing and a lack of “oomph” to power the real world brutality it is looking to reenact. As stated before, the film turns kind of plain without Fairbanks’ presence in a scene. I wanted more of the internal struggle that Faribanks faced and more airtime dedicated to the estranged relationship with his daughter. No need for scenes feeling empty when you have a strong well of opportunities to add personal characterization to a grounded story like this.
Villain is a decent watch for anyone who loves crime stories with a twist of morality. It's not spectacular nor thought provoking enough to warrant more than one go around but it is admirable with what it tries to accomplish in showing that there are no winners when it comes to being surrounded by limiting circumstances.
RORSCHACH RATING:
Victims and Villains is written and produced by Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey. Music by Yuriy Bespalov & Beggars. This post was edited by Cam Smith. Villain is property of Saban Films. We do not own nor claim any rights. Villain is available May 22nd, 2020 on VOD and all major digital platforms.
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