Queue the Review #12: Resolution

Plot Synopsis: During an intervention for his friend, Chris (Vinny Curran), Michael (Peter Cilella) begins to notice strange occurrences taking place in the reservation.

Justin Oberholtzer

I have conflicting feelings on “Resolution”. On one hand, I appreciate and enjoy the mystery surrounding the film. Directors Justin Benson (who also wrote the screenplay) & Aaron Moorhead do a fine job of keeping the audience guessing. Whenever information is brought up, it’s still unclear how it plays into Chris & Michael’s life. All we know is something is watching them. We don’t know what the intentions are and that’s very creepy.

On the other hand, the film is too slight at times, testing the audience’s patience. While it’s not a long film, the ninety-minute runtime starts to drag halfway through, only to pick up during the finale. I feel this was to keep people on their toes and draw out the process, but it felt like pointless meandering at times. It doesn’t help if the resolution isn’t satisfying to certain viewers, no pun intended.

The bulk of the film relies on the likeability of Chris & Michael. Obviously, the latter is going to be more relatable, as he’s the one who’s trying to save his friend (albeit through questionable means). Some of his motivations when shit starts hitting the fan, such as not uprooting the intervention elsewhere, are questionable. They do get explained near the end, but again, not exactly satisfying for certain people. While Michael could be viewed as an asshole, I found him to be endearing. Yes, his drug addiction has turned him into a selfish asshole, but he does slowly start to redeem himself. Which is the entire point of the intervention and film, to a lesser extent.

I’m going to recommend “Resolution”, as it is an intriguing film that has enough going for it keep one interested. It has a rocky road to it’s finale, but the ride is worth it. If not just for the beautiful scenery Benson & Moorhead get out of the setting. It’s definitely a dense film, so I expect some to loathe it, but I feel it’s worth giving a shot.

Why Should You Put This In Your Queue? It’s an interesting mystery that keeps you guessing. The cast is solid, as is the direction (for the most part). It’s also a beautiful film to watch, thanks to the imagery!

Why Shouldn’t You Put This In Your Queue? It’s a dense experience, which will automatically put some people off. It tends to meander in the middle and the end will leave some unsatisfied. I myself am still deciding how I feel on it.

Matt Stetler

How far would you go to help a friend kick a drug addiction?  Would you go into a shady backwoods area deal with drug addicts that want to hurt you, Native Americans who also want to hurt you and some kind of supernatural thing that, you guessed it, wants to hurt you?  If you would still do it, then not only are you a glutton for punishment but you’re a pretty good friend.  Well Resolution tells a tale of two friends going through just this sort of ordeal, but slow pacing, lack of scares and an underwhelming final act ruin what could have been an interesting supernatural thriller.

Mike receives a video from his friend Chris of Chris high as a kite on cocaine and generally acting a fool.  Chris has been struggling for years with addiction, so Mike leaves his expectant wife to make one last attempt to clean up his friend.  When he arrives, Mike starts to realize that the house Chris is squatting in holds its share of secrets and they could turn out to be deadly.

Sound good, right?  Well sadly, so many things ruin what could have been an interesting take on the same story idea featured in films like Insidious and the Amityville Horror.  The first hour of the film makes brief mentions of the history of the house and features a few “did you see that?” moments.  However, they are so spaced out, it’s hard to get really invested in the story or even really know what is going on.  Also, for someone who is going through a cold turkey withdrawal of cocaine, the character of Chris is not believable.  I’ve seen enough episodes of Intervention to know that coming down off the kind of high that he was on wouldn’t be going this easy.  He’d be having a much rougher go of it.  He’s too “comic relief,” and should be in agony.  The other thing that drove me crazy, was Mike and his nonchalant commitment to getting Chris clean.  Mike chains one of Chris’s hands to a pipe (to keep him safe apparently), but then he proceeds to explore the area every day, for hours on end!  Keep in mind, this is after the threat of drug addicts and Native American thugs have made it clear they have intentions of hurting both men.  There’s also a scene with a French guy that plays out like the scene in the Matrix Reloaded with the Architect, and we all know how that scene worked out.

Even with all this ridiculousness, Resolution was still playing out like the final act was going to save the day.  With about 20 minutes left, some cool stuff does start happening, but Benson and Moorhead still find a way to screw this up and the ending is just deflating.  Not because of what happens to our main characters, but because of what happens.  Nothing really gets explained outside of “there’s some crazy stuff happening” and that’s it.  The only thing I took away from Resolution was the resolution to not follow what these directors do with their careers.

Why you should put this in your queue?  Resolution has an interesting idea and some interesting moments, plus the interaction between the main actors does have some enjoyable moments even though Chris’s withdrawal is unbelievable.

Why you shouldn’t put this in your queue?  A slow paced thrill-less thriller with a weak payoff.  It would be more entertaining to follow Chris’s lead and get wacked out on cocaine then sit through this again.