Faults (2014)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Best movie ever!

Absolutely Brilliant!

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Dramas that principally take place in a room or two had better have attention to detail in sets, props, lighting, and cinematography. And, of course, they should have an engaging, creative story with beyond the call exceptional acting. This film does all that. Why not five stars? First, no subtitles and with sometimes poor articulation, sometimes poor audio levels a lot of dialogue is missed so you have to turn the volume way up or rewind (I did both) and that helped only in a few cases. Second, in the bonus section you can listen to actors, etc. comments as the film progresses. It turned out that the comments were practically useless in understanding the story i.e. several key events were not explained or discussed. Third, there's a bit of deadpan humor interspersed which is fine but it also confuses/detracts from taking a serious subject seriously. Story: A writer of a book (and some times active deprogrammer) about how to override the influence of cults and sects on supposed vulnerable new recruits has some faults one of which is a past failed deprogramming. In debt for a bogus deprogramming book he is trying to peddle to earn enough to live on, he is hounded by the book's creditor. Thus he takes on a job to kidnap and deprogram the supposed daughter of a couple. This is where all the twists show up, many of which are not explained (I guess to leave the viewer to interpret) or just left openly vague.

"Fault is a fracture. It's a place where pressure builds until it releases."Leland Orser and Mary Elizabeth Winstead star together in this unique dramatic thriller written and directed by Winstead's husband, Riley Stearns. Faults is his feature debut and after this, there is no doubt he's going to be getting more offers because it is a very inventive drama that feels like no other movie because it changes and morphs as the story progresses. It is hard to classify this film because it doesn't feel like any other movie I've seen. Orser plays Ansel Roth, an expert on mind control, but it is clear that his glory days are long behind him. When we are introduced to him he's trying to reuse a coupon for his meal at the hotel where he's giving a speech on his new book about free will. There are very few people who have signed up for his seminar and he's evidently in deep financial trouble. An opportunity for redemption shows up when a couple (played by Chris Ellis and Beth Grant) ask Ansel to help them with their daughter. They say she has changed dramatically after finding a mysterious cult and that they are afraid of losing her. Ansel tells them that he can help but that it is going to cost them. He plans on deprogramming her by kidnapping her and having a five day session with her at an undisclosed location. The girl's name is Claire (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and she claims to be at the happiest point in her life so apparently it won't be an easy job for Ansel who is going through his personal lowest. What follows is a fascinating psychological control study with touches of dark humor and several twists along the way. The less you know about the film going into it the better off you are. The production team behind Faults is the same one that brought us last year's The Guest and the reinvented slasher horror film You're Next so I was already excited about this film. They present unique projects that at times blend familiar genres or include some sort of surprise element along the way. Faults is a low budget indie film but it never ceases to amaze with a production design that sets the film somewhere around the early 80's although there is no mention of when the story actually takes place. The film is perfectly executed, it has an interesting premise, and the screenplay is beautifully written by Riley Stearns as it transforms along the way. It's not one of those films that tries to fool the audience and then presents a twist that no matter how many times you go back and rewatch it it simply doesn't make any sense. Faults isn't trying to fool us, instead it is simply telling a story that unfolds in unexpected ways as we reach the climactic finale. Perhaps what stands out the most in Faults are the two leading performances. Leland Orser delivers the best role of his career and it is great to finally see him in a starring role. His character isn't someone we should really sympathize with considering he's simply miserable from the moment we are introduced to him. He's such a loser but somehow Orser manages to engage us and we want him to have his shot at redemption. We believe he actually knows his stuff on mind control and free will but life has given him an unexpected blow that he seems to be able to recover from. On the other hand Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Claire is enigmatic and we never know what she is really thinking. Winstead delivers one of the best performances of her career as well and the two turn Faults into a highly engaging and hypnotic film well worth your time.http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

I was very impressed with this film. We follow a down and out Cult novelist who specializes in understanding the methodology of how cults control individuals. The novelist is divorced, homeless, broke, suicidal and in debt with some very nasty former business partner when we meet him. When two parents approach him desperate for help, he agrees to help them with an extreme intervention with their cult involved daughter. The goal is to deprogram her. Arranging a kidnapping, he abducts the girl and isolates her in a motel room for days attempting to mentally break her down and understand her cult programing. It was engaging and completely unpredictable. I'm not totally satisfied how the story concluded but found the entire ride fun and intriguing.

I thought this was a brilliant movie, from the bizarre introduction of a grown man trying to reuse a coupon to get a free meal and then being forcefully removed from the hotel restaurant to only discover he is the main speaker holding a seminar on mind control cults.It was a great introduction to the, main character and his struggle to recover from his previous success as a leading authority cult specialist to living hand to mouth trying to make ends meet. A reminder to pay his debt and a job opportunity to redeem himself, he is targeted from the beginning and must wake up before it's too late. Awesome