Deadfall Reviews

Deadfall was so good. I really enjoyed this thriller. I loved how messed up Liza and Addison were. So damaged and insane yet sane all in one. A crazy combination that made them such interesting characters.
The movie had a great cast. The legends Ms. Sissy Spacek and Mr. Kris Kristofferson turned in good performances. I love Spacek. She has always been a favorite of mine since her Carrie days. The woman can play any role.
Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde did great jobs too. I went from liking Addison to hating him then to being kinda grossed out by him. He is a very messed up individual.
Charlie, Charlie. How I love me some Charlie. Jay is an ex-boxer who just got out of prison and is on his way home for Thanksgiving when he comes upon Liza. They get stuck together for a night and things escalate from there.
I really liked Kate Mara as Hanna. She was sweet and didn't let the bullies in her department get her down. Her dad was a complete asshole and I couldn't stand him. I felt bad for her.
The film is a bit twisted when it comes to Addison and Liza. I enjoyed the story. I'd watch it again.

A hard-boiled cocktail of a film noir. An exceptional piece of work. An sexy, atmospheric, suspenseful and riveting crime-thriller. It has the type of style and backdrop of a Elmore Lenard novel and the dark edginess of a Coen Brothers film. A well-characterized genre piece that delves deep into it's darkness and brings you on an intense and thrilling ride. Director, Stefan Ruzowitzky crafts a film that's alive, it's engaging, brutal, tense and undeniably entertaining. A dark and compelling classic. A bold and explosive edge of your seat thriller. It's has an impressive all-star cast and is packed with cold intensity, surprising emotional depth, great character development and vivid action all the way to it's chilling and exhilarating conclusion. Eric Bana gives a stellar and tremendous performance, he is a near perfect and brilliant villain. Charlie Hunnam and Olivia Wilde give compelling and stunning performances. Kate Mara is excellent. Treat Williams is terrific. Kris Kristofferson and Sissy Spacek are fantastic.

Deadfall.

Very good movie! Quite a good little crime drama with a snowy backdrop and isolation as an insistent threat. The tension is woven with the back stories of those involved all leading to an inevitable confrontation and a predictable solution. The screenplay is exciting and observant of human psychology. The acting is superb, and I guess the directing had a lot going for it too. Like the perfect storm,this just all came together and did a job of stirring me up good. The freezing cold of the blizzard backdrop is juts right for the tension that pervades this story. The original musical score by Marco Beltrami underlines all the facets of this tale. While every one in the cast is excellent, it is Eric Bana that pulls of a very well written role in a manner that despite his actions he never loses our empathy.

Siblings Addison and Liza are on the run with the stolen loot from a casino job gone horribly wrong. Meanwhile, troubled ex-boxer Jay heads for Thanksgiving dinner with his parents, June and retired sheriff Chet. What will happen when their worlds collide in a twist of fate?

'Deadfall' is an underrated film that is well shot with a quick pace. Hunnam's acting may get a little wooden, but Bana is electric and subtly creepy. The plot is exhilaratingly fresh, with several characters with different motives all colliding in the same household in a gripping climax. Not sure what all the critics have to complain about, 'Deadfall' is a thrilling piece of work.

movie summary

Disjointed and shallow, Deadfall is a lackluster film that's poorly made. The story follows several characters that are brought together through a manhunt following a botched casino robbery. There are some good actors in the cast, such as Eric Bana, Olivia Wilde, and Kate Mara, but the script is abysmal. The pacing is also quite poor, and the stories doesn't feel cohesive. Deadfall is a monotonous film that doesn't know what story it's telling.

"Deadfall" starts with a clean getaway from an armed robbery for three criminals. Then, karma raises its ugly head in the person of a deer in the middle of a snowy road in Michigan. Liza(Olivia Wilde) and Addison(Eric Bana) walk away from the wreck while the driver is not so lucky, nor is the state trooper Addison shoots. He figures it is best if they split up on their way to the Canadian border. Liza catches a ride with Jay(Charlie Hunnam) who has issues of his own with the law and is on his way to see his parents(Sissy Spacek & Kris Kristofferson). They were just paid a friendly visit by Hanna(Kate Mara), a deputy sheriff, who perhaps should consider filing a workplace complaint against her father(Treat Williams).

"Deadfall" gets off to a good start with the classic trappings of desperate characters on the run to the border in the middle of a blizzard.(And when was the last time we had a dandy snowmobile chase?) Then, slowly the movie falls apart as it heads off into every conceivable direction, with the contrivances and cliches piling up. No wonder that Liza asks Jay if he feels he has ever been in a movie before. Maybe, this would be a good thing if the movie was interested in playing the meta card but nothing there. Plus, I'm pretty sure we are supposed to take all of this seriously. In any case, it all comes down to family issues, as there are at least five different dysfunctional families on display here with the quasi-incestuous Addison/Liza relationship taking the turkey leg. I just wish everybody could have found a different way to work through their issues, so somebody could have enjoyed some football on Thanksgiving.

Boring and predictable

Austrian director Ruzowitzky received much acclaim for his 2007 WWII drama "The Counterfeiters". Presumably this is how he came to assemble such a stellar cast here as I can't imagine the script winning any fans. Bana and Wilde are two siblings on the run follwing a heist in snowy Michigan. There's an incestuous relationship hinted at between the two but it's clumsily handled, as is every element of this mess.
Ruzowitzky seems to be aiming for the sort of crime ensemble the Coen Brothers have regularly explored. The snowy locale and Mara's irritating accent seem to serve no purpose but to remind us of the vastly over-rated "Fargo".
The film could be subtitled "Daddy Issues: The Movie" as every character seems to have an estranged relationship with their father. The real issues that need dealing with are those of the script however.

Awesome edge of your seat thriller that kept me looking until the last suspenseful scene played out. How is it that a car accident in the middle of a wintery nowhere produces a homicidal maniac in Addison (Eric Bana) and his "biological clock" watching sister Liza (Olivia Wilde). After the accidental murder of their driver and the intentional murder of a State Trooper Addison and Liza decide to split up and make their own way to the Canadian Border. As the brother continues on an insane killing spree to make it to the border, his sister decides to hitchhike with an unsuspecting victim Jay Mills (Charlie Hunnam). Jay too has problems of his own being freshly released from jail with no intentions of going back. As he tries to reconnect with those "responsible" for his incarceration...things goes sideways with his former trainer which places him back "on the run" enroute to his parents house. As he is driving through the snowy back roads of wintry bliss he runs into Liza as a "hitchhiker"...who places him as her victim to the Canadian Border. Seeing this unfold as the brother and sister make the attempt to reunite is an adventure worth experiencing. Try and see this!

With an interesting premise and a serviceable cast, Deadfall offered a lot of potential to be a poor man's Cohen brothers sort of crime noir piece. Instead, it ventures too much on the "straight to dvd" category that it ultimately falls flat.

The cast is a mix of 'known' actors, Eric Bana, Sissy Spacek, to character actors, Kris Kristofferson, to those more new on the scene and known for their television work, such as Charlie Hunnam. All are okay, with the exception of Kate Mara who is a very inconsistent actress, that with better material they could have clicked. Unfortunately, they were faced with a weak script and apparently weak direction, with no one talented enough to carry the film.

The script has an interesting, if not somewhat familiar story, but doesn't nothing new with it. It's riddled with clichés (the daughter who can never live up to her father's expectations, the son who made a mistake that will forever haunt him, the protective brother with a dark past), and refuses to do anything beyond the surface level. The dialogue is especially weak, sounding stilted and bare-bones, there is no richness or subtext to be found, just dull set up for the next dull, clichéd ridden scene.

The film does look good, and the director succeeds in giving it an atmospheric feel. This makes the films' otherwise lackluster execution all the more disappointing, with a stronger cast and a better script, it could have been an enjoyable, perhaps memorable, little noir piece. Overall, however, it fails to do enough right to make it recommended.

2.5/5 Stars

The idea was there, the amazing cast was there, and even the snowy setting was there, but somehow "Deadfall" and director Stefan Ruzowitzky never quite get off on the right foot. The film starts strong with the car crash that is promised from the marketing, almost immediately. Thus, the characters are instantly sent into motion, but instead of clear, cut paths, they meander about until we just can't take it anymore. For starters, there's a creepy incestuous vibe coming from Liza (Olivia Wilde) and Addison (Eric Bana) which is completely unnecessary. Wilde is as gorgeous as always and that is often taking advantage of including a steamy sex scene. Speakin of unnecessary, Jay (Charlie Hunnam) is for some reason also running from the cops, which in also unneeded. Top that off with an over the top sheriff whose deputy just happens to be his daughter (Kate Mara). As you read the list of actors and actresses in this film, you wonder how the film falls so hard (no pun intended). Had the screenplay been given some extra attention, "Deadfall" could have been a strong, well-paced suspense thriller, but instead barely reaches the levels of drama. There are moments of clarity, but often this film loses sight of what it wants to be. I have to give props to the cast for powering through and hardly faltering despite what they are put up against, but overall, "Deadfall" lands just a bit short of being an enjoyable film.

Not very convincing performances from anyone involved, but the storyline seems to intrigue you enough to keep up with it till the very end. Bana doesn't seem as locked in as a southern speaking killer just as Wilde doesn't show much acting ability like we've seen from other roles. Charlie Hunnam feels like he could be better in a different movie with the same role, a boxer. Kate Mara is not seen enough.

Bleh, I couldn't buy into Olivia Wilde or Charile Hunnam and just passing strangers they are too ridiculously good looking. The script is filled with bad dialogue and twists you see coming miles away.

There's a good premise here, but it falls short after about the first half. Kate Mara is the standout in this film and she wasn't given nearly enough to do. And while the plot is interesting enough, it's one I've seen several times before. Overall not a terrible movie, but nothing I'll remember for long.

A sleeper hit. This film escaped mass market hype, but still puts forth a quality story, actors, and acting.

Deadfall was an entertaining movie but unfortunately if falls short at the end because it leaves too many loose strings.

Violent and romantic at the same time. The brother and sister have a twisted and disturbing relationship that is uncomfortable to watch. I loved the romance between the sister and the boxer. The ending was perfect, sweet, and very satisfying

I thought the story line was original and disturbing. It kept my attention and the acting was good. I like movies that cause you to think and make you a little uncomfortable - I enjoyed it.