No matter what kind of story you’re trying to tell, getting two talented actors for central roles is an excellent first step. In the case of Castle in the Ground, even a premise that descends into some questionable territory is heavily mitigated by who you’re watching engage in these acts. Here, it’s Imogen Poots and Alex Wolff, with the latter having a truly tough leading role to play. The movie goes to some dark places and makes some debatable narrative decisions, but Poots and Wolff are so inherently watchable that you’re willing to forgive some of its trespasses. The movie is a drama about addiction. Henry (Wolff) is taking care of his sick mother Rebecca (Neve Campbell). She doesn’t have long to live, with her pain managed by medicine that Henry dispenses to her. When she passes away, Henry is at a loss, breaking up...
- 5/16/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
In movies as in life, there is a familiar exasperation that often comes with witnessing people personally (rather than professionally) involved with addicts, as they try to make excuses for manipulative, mercurial behavior, chasing the user’s “new leaf” promises like a carrot on a stick. Fervently hoping for positive change, their desire to help can curdle into unintentional enabling. Plus, as engrossing as addiction may be from the inside, when viewed externally it sure can be monotonous.
Those are problems “Castle in the Ground” can’t quite escape in dramatic terms, as this well-acted second feature from actor-turned-director Joey Klein charts a grieving youth’s terrible choice of succor in the company of his junkie neighbor. Part gritty portrait of a mutually destructive drug-based relationship à la “Crush” or “Panic in Needle Park,” part crime thriller, the film never quite grips enough on either plane. The result is an earnest,...
Those are problems “Castle in the Ground” can’t quite escape in dramatic terms, as this well-acted second feature from actor-turned-director Joey Klein charts a grieving youth’s terrible choice of succor in the company of his junkie neighbor. Part gritty portrait of a mutually destructive drug-based relationship à la “Crush” or “Panic in Needle Park,” part crime thriller, the film never quite grips enough on either plane. The result is an earnest,...
- 5/13/2020
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
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