Freeze Frame (2004)

Touches You

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Lee Evans (best known as stand up, rubbery-faced comedian in the UK) pulls off an astounding performance, and not just for leaving behind the relative comfort zone of comedy. Any 'serious' actor would be similarly lauded, I think. I won't rehash the plot - there are more than enough summaries on here - but what I will say, without spoiling anything, is that the film drives on its plot twists. It's just that at a certain point about 3/4 in, there is almost a twist too many, and the characters appear to be taking longer to work out what the hell is going on, who did what to whom, and why, and then they realise that they were really lying about one thing, and not the other, which drags the film down, with some rather tedious explanations - that still remain thoroughly necessary - which grate after a while. The sense one is left with is that the filmmakers are almost learning the plot along with US, and there isn't a sense of control in the narrative. I mean, obviously they knew what happened, but the tone was of constant uncertainty about how to end it, and who to make the bad guy. So instead of making choices, they choose instead to make EVERYONE the bad guy at one time or another until they hit upon a convenient enough resolution that will satisfy the most amount of people. It is, however, beautifully lit (a scene with Evans leaving his house/warehouse/prison which is backlit with multiple shadows is extraordinary) and the CCTV footage style is never excessive or derivative. The one feeling I was left with having bought it online second hand for about £2.50, was: cool, but I doubt I'll watch that again. At least a year's time before I consider it. It would only be worth it for Evans' performance, as unfortunately, the makers just couldn't get a classy enough backup cast; the Rachel character is a particular weakness, when her role is critical to the narrative, yet she remains the weakest performance here, verging on high school incompetence at times. The notion that British law would ever allow such a blatant miscarriage of justice, when the evidence is SO SO flimsy against Sean, further upsets things. You tend to let it go, though, thanks to Evans brilliant portrayal as a man condemned to fight for his right to innocence. Worth checking out, but don't go out of your way.

It's a nice dark thriller with a mysterious and puzzling plot which combines strange ambiances and scenarios with a typical criminal investigation. The great novelty of this film is its main character which is a peculiar guy that, to prove his innocence from the accusation of a family's murder, records every second of his life on videotape. He says there's a conspiring plan against him, and to protect himself from false allegations, he tapes his life to prove his innocence. I liked the dark cinematography and the strangeness that dwells all over the film. The final twist is not so surprising as I had heard from other users but it's a nice ending anyway. I score it 7/10, mostly because of its cinematography.

Dropping his genius active stand-up comic and rubber-face image, Lee Evans in a serious role is pretty good. Basically Sean Veil (Evans) was almost convicted by a near murder, and he tapes himself 24-7 to make sure he has an alibi if he is found suspected, or guilty. Along the way he comes across many people trying to get into his mind and understand him, including Forensic Profiler Saul Seger (Ace Ventura 2's Ian McNeice) who believes he knows him more than he knows himself. Also trying to find his guilt or innocence are Detective Louis Emeric (Sean McGinley), who is dying from coughing up blood, and Colin Salmon as Detective Mountjoy, who is just going with the flow. There are people that may believe his innocence though, including Katie Carter (Rachael Stirling), who is the murder victims' sister! Anyway, whatever happens to him, he has all the filmed evidence to help him prove his innocence. A creepy story from a first-time director, with paranoia and a disturbing bald Evans. Good!

**Mini Spoiler*** The plot of this film is a little too obvious, and why do scripts have to have one of the main four characters end up as the killer? I will not let on as to who, just to keep you in suspense. **Mini Spoiler Ends***This flick has the feel of a modern day Agatha Christie novel, and could have been a stage-play with it's limited locales. But…. It has some great visuals, and I loved the broken up, jerky digital images that got thrown up in the early part of the film. The vault of Camcorder Tapes detailing an obsessive man's life was great.Lee Evans shows he is a good actor, but I do not think this was the break-through film for him. He has the potential of doing what Robin Williams cooked up in One Hour Photo - and just needs the right part…The Point-Of-View footage and multiple camcorder images did wear after awhile, and the rest of the movie was so jet-black that things got a little dull visually - even the likes of ultra-bleak Se7en had a few "colourful" moments - but this was probably the look the makers were striving for.Also, I kept thinking "why do that?" and "what a stupid thing to have done" - normally plot-holes do not bother me, but the storyline was straying a lot from it's initial edgy, hyper-realistic, noir style. Things just seemed to get more and more illogical, but with everyone still playing it fairly straight - unless I was missing something….. So…. A nice effort and lots of style for a limited budget - but a little too formulaic and over-stylised for my liking.