Adventures providing discernment for all who desire it.

Monday, May 17, 2010

The Clinic- Review

I’m the kind of person that definitely does not judge a book by the cover. With movies, I am a little bit more cynical. For this reason, I have a habit of choosing to view films that I think will make perfect sense and have happy endings. Well, that shell is in dire need of a break. Thank God that I have found an outlet: Cannes. What a wonderful place to branch out and discover how wonderful worldwide cinema can be! With that in mind, I have taken it upon myself to venture out and explore any and every facet of film and make a conscious effort to watch every kind of movie that I can find. Well, here goes. The following is a review of the film The Clinic, which was one of the first risks I took as an official Cannes Film Festival attendee…

Film: The Clinic
Writer and Director: James Rabbitts
Runtime: 94 Minutes
Company: Accelerator Films
Producer: Samuel Pinczewski
Executive Producer: Bob Marcs and Jonathan Shteinman
Cast: Tabrett Bethell
Freya Stafford
Andy Whitfield
Clare Bowen
Sophie Lowe
Boris Brkic

Apparently James Rabbits has some skills with ladies considering he cast what appear to be six supermodels in his first feature film The Clinic. Based on true events, this film explores the violent instincts of six women and just how far they will go for their children. The first thing that comes to my mind when I sit to watch this film is the frightening fact that the story is based on true events. The protagonist Beth Church, played by Tabrett Bethell, is pregnant and on a trip with her fiancé Cameron, played by Andy Whitfield. After stopping in a motel, Beth awakens in a clinic…no longer pregnant. There are six women; each one is gorgeous, successful, and now determined to find their child. What follows is a horrific display of the primal side of women and the sickening operation of an undisclosed adoption agency.
Unknown to the women, there are tags in each of their stomachs that link them to their corresponding child. Would wouldn’t think to look for a child replacement in their stomach that resembles a chip clip? Because of this, the clinic operator tells a single woman that the only way to find her child is to kill the other mothers. After a seemingly long period of time and one too many deaths, one woman takes it upon herself to utilize the nearby veterinarian clinic to operate on the remaining women to reveal their tags. It may just be me, but if I saw a group of babies in locked cages, I would not give up as easily as they do, and I certainly would not leave the room. The cheesy scene in which the women are flailing around the land being chased by dogs does not add to the plotline, but actually makes the characters look quite dumb. They are about to perform an operation on one another in an abandoned clinic, but they are scared of two dogs…some things simply do not seem logical. The story was unclear until Beth comes in contact with Duncan, a male with retardation that does all of the dirty work for the clinic’s director. There are so many events and unknown factors in the film that it is hard to keep track of the bad guy. And to bribe Duncan for his keys to the baby cage, there just so happens to be a bag of gummy bears nearby.
The cinematography is effective for creating suspense, but there seems to be a lack of creativity in the character development. It looks like a bunch of clueless women running around with no logical thinking or communication skills. If one of them can operate, I believe death can be avoided all together. Conveying that fact to the other women, however, is something that they cannot do. The acting is a bit over the top and the role of Beth’s fiancé does nothing for the story line, even though I await his heroism.
The dialogue is mediocre, but simple sentences seem to get the point across to the audience. I find myself laughing, although it may not be appropriate, in the horror scenes because of their missing production value. The over use of fade-to-black becomes obnoxious, particularly towards the end of the film. Beth’s flashbacks don’t make sense until she somewhat explains the dreams she has been having. Even then, the audience is left in the dark (literally and figuratively) until the last few scenes. The adoption agency’s director reveals herself and explains everything to Beth. Meanwhile, a couple appears to be adopting Beth’s baby while she is chained to the floor. Her death is the choice of the couple that has been watching her attempt to survive. Surprisingly, Duncan returns to rebel against his mother and ends up killing the couple and being shot himself. Although extreme, Tabrett Brethell, through it all, conveys the emotions of her character successfully and credibly.
The final scenes of the film redeem much of the outrageous plotline with a twist. Turns out, the protagonist, Beth, was actually a child that was adopted from that agency and her mother was killed there. Seeking revenge and salvation for future mothers, Beth murders the agency director who remarks that Beth’s mother “was not a killer” to which Beth replies, “revolution is a bitch.” Although the dialogue is lacking, I am one that appreciates quick wit in any situation. The final scene leaves me somewhat disappointed and wondering. Beth is walking in a cemetery, in a horrible wig, and sees a man walk by where she has found her biological mother’s grave, and the man is implied to be her father by the local gravedigger. Witty and interesting, the closing scenes bring some life to a confusing and revolting story. However, every prior scene has me wondering how many new plot developments are going to take place and when the film will end.

1 comment:

  1. It's not "Revolution is a bitch." Beth says "Evolution is a bitch." Which clearly makes more sense.

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