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| Joseph Bellamy |
Born in 1974, I missed the popular explosion of the
so called ’Exploitation’ genre, having instead been part of the
generation that made huge budget , FX laden action blockbusters the
film of choice in Hollywood. Having seen Modus Operandi, I now miss what I didn’t know. |
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Aiming to capture the romance and allure of these lower-budget, harder-boiled classics, Writer/Director
Frankie Latina’s
Modus hit’s the mark like a sniper shot, and makes it look as smooth
and easy as uno, dos, Trejo! With a Porn-Star pedigree (Former Porn
A-lister, Actress, and Independent Film Maven
Sasha Grey touts a
‘Presented by:’ Credit on the film ) , bare bones, 8mm vision,
life-is-as-cheap-as-bullets narrative and the casting of Hollywood’s
hands-down scariest bad guy,
Modus Operandi is an outstanding, cult-ready ready offering for the cerebral film-goer, and the booms-and-boobs audience alike!
Shot
in a medium once relegated to the least respectable of film efforts,
It’s a feast of vintage cinematic technique, glam-art sex appeal and
contemporary indie style. Not the typical Hollywood roller-coaster,
but rather a slow cruise through the darkest part of town, In an
impossibly slick black sedan. The story, the chronicle of a burned-out
hit-man’s quest for vengeance, is played out amidst a world of
perverse secrets, professional lies and political murders. The action
percolates and simmers, often boiling over with sex and violence, but
never cheapens itself with an overtly gratuitous explosion. Instead,
the blood and pyrotechnics are applied for impact, not mindless
flash-effect.
First, we are inducted into the films
world with a sepia-toned smoking advisory and title-card. We then meet
our (anti) hero, Stanley Cashay, through flash backs and the
voiced-over memories of his deceased wife. Cashay, a retired triggerman
for the shadowy ‘Intelligencia’, is brought to a sort of spooky
half-life by the gaunt look and smooth mannerisms of
Randy Russell ("
American Job").
His suit, shades and smokes all invoke to the uber-cool secret agent
men of a hipper time. Cue the funky, retro credits, and you can almost
hear the door to the slick black sedan click shut behind you. ’Modus’
is rolling, and you’re along for the ride.
In the
step with the films deliberate pacing, We then bare witness to a deal
gone dirty, and are introduced to our ‘bad-guys‘:. Squire Parks, An
altogether too-smooth politician portrayed with oily aplomb by
Michael Sottile ("
Reservoir Dogs"), the crooked Copper Gore, played by
Mark Metcalf, and his long haired associate Dallas Deacon played by noted independent film-maker
Mark Borchardt ("
American Movie.") Lest we think these miscreants aren‘t carrying enough criminal credentials, enter
Danny Trejo
as bad-ass boss-man Director Holiday. Trejo’s brand of gravel-voiced
menace immediately fills the screen, and your consciousness, like the
sight of a venomous snake coiled for the lunge.
The
holy-grail of the story is also established, in the form of two
much-sought after black briefcases. Cashay must track them down and
bring them back to his former handlers in the Intelligencia. The
assignment is made irresistible when the ‘good-guys’ offer Cashay the
chance to avenge his wife’s murder.
What follows is a
tension building skulk through an attractively gritty, sexy underworld
of strippers and killers, that spans from the dark alleys of Milwaukee
to the bright lights of Tokyo. It is a darkly fantastic landscape,
made real with the use of period-appropriate props, and peopled with
the genre-essential cast of supporting characters. There is the always
cooperative privateer, Casey Thunderbird (
Barry Polterman,) the deliciously sexy hit-woman, Black Licorice (
Nicole Johnson,)
and a whole host of agents, assassins, hit-girls and hotties. A series
of hand-offs, coded conversations and doubles crosses move the story
along smoothly, without every letting up the pressure that has been
steadily re-doubling since the first turn of the projector.
The
drama is expertly punctuated with shoot-outs, car chases and even a
brief, but impacting homage to Hitchcock’s classic thriller
North By North West.
All the while, the viewers sense that they have been taken on a ride
that is far more than they had bargained for sinks deeper into the
psyche, which is cruising more and more comfortably with every passing 8
mm. frame.
Over the course of the film, we are shown
several clips of what appears to be beta-cam recorded video of young
women seemingly auditioning for porno. As the story progresses, we come
to understand the true nature of the footage, how it ties the
principals players together, and ultimately, what they, and it, convey
to us about the true meaning of power. This last idea, the meaning of
power, is driven home for the audience in a climactic encounter between
Squire Parks and Director Holiday, where Trejo’s words and deeds can
only be described as pure Vato Loco, HOMES!
All in all,
Frankie Latina and Milwaukee-based Special Entertainment can be very proud of
Modus Operandi.
They have not only succeeded in bringing a spot-on homage to the
hard-hitting , so-called exploitation genre to a modern audience, but
they have managed to remind us that a good film is about transporting
the audience.
Modus Operandi is sure winner
that takes you through the shadows and into another world. Now that I
know, I can tell you; between the cool tunes of the sound-track, the
seemingly endless supply of Hot bodies and the cold, calculated style
of Stanley Cashay, it’s a world in which you will be fully engrossed,
and won’t ever want to leave.
Film: "
Modus Operandi"
Director:
Frankie Latina
Film's website:
www.frankielatina.com
Screening at Reel Fest, March 14th, 2011
www.reelfest.org
Review written by
Joseph James Bellamy
Editor:
TS Harmon
