Frailty (2002)

Just what I expected

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Good concept, poorly executed.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Trying to convince an FBI agent that his brother is a wanted notorious serial killer, a mysterious young man recounts how his father had divine visions and went on a killing spree when he was a kid in this compelling mystery thriller. While Matthew McConaughey and Powers Boothe are second and third billed as the mysterious young man and FBI agent respectively, the majority of the film actually takes place in flashback with Matt O'Leary turning in an intense performance as a young boy trying his best to deal with his father's murder spree and ravings of visions and messages from angels. There is not a lot of overt horror here (most of the killings occur off-screen) but 'Frailty' soon becomes a deeply disturbing movie - in the best possible way - as we see how helpless O'Leary is, made an unwilling participant in the killings and tortured by his father when he refuses to comply. An uncanny series of twist after twist towards the end of the movie cheapens this power struggle somewhat, however, 'Frailty' still remains an enticing movie overall with its depiction of an uneasy father/son relationship. The twists are thought-provoking too, even if they do not necessarily gel with child abuse and rebellion themes, and set to an unsettling music score, 'Frailty' is such a classy film that it makes one really wish that Bill Paxton directed more films before his untimely passing.

a haunting thriller. a masterpiece. a brilliant collection of twists. impressive performance of Bill Paxton. and more. because it is the kind of film who could be defined as experience. because the impression of quicksands is the basic virtue of this story about religious pretext, appearances, fear and a form of duty who ruins everything you believe. and this is the great traits of "Frailty". to be a challenge step by step. to provokes you. to give the answer who change everything. and to say - maybe , I knew that !. but, only maybe.

The film starts off on an eerie note of the father's sudden madness/delusion being shared with impressionable children. We have almost no background at all to tell where this madness comes from. And we aren't given a single character viewpoint to help us decide. We are always on the outside, allowed to make up our own mind whether the things the characters are feeling are true or delusional. We are following along behind powerful, psychologically probable, series of events.And then comes the weird twists near the end. It's almost as if the Director/or someone with power over the film, changed their mind about certain plot mechanics. Maybe they wanted a more commercially acceptable ending, maybe they wanted to wrap up the story more neatly. It looks like a 11th hour decision was made to cut this movie in a way it wasn't originally intended.I think the plot could have worked without SHOWING Adam as ACTUALLY being the Hand of God. Leaving the audience wondering would have been far more powerful. Confusion and dissatisfaction is what I felt throughout the last 15 minutes of so.

Thrillers were very different 15 years ago. Back in the late 90s, early 2000s there were a raft of terrific thrillers being released all the time. They were dark in nature, excellently made and smart in their writing. Unfortunately, these days finding films like 'Frailty' is a rare thing. It's a fantastic movie, that while flawed in parts, is everything a good thriller should be. I wish Hollywood would return to the trend of making these types of movies in abundance. They're just so much fun to watch.There are two twists in Frailty, one reasonably obvious, the other not so. The first twist comes in the form of Matthew McConaughey's character not being everything he appears to be. The exact implication of who is character really is, is a worthy twist, but the fact that he's not all he seemed to be is far from it. The second twist is the real doozy though. I kept thinking to myself throughout the film that this story line, and Bill Paxton's character in particular, were making religious people look absolutely awful. Now, knowing that McConaughey is himself a very religious person, it surprised me that he would take on a role in movie that would make his people seem so despicable. That's why the second twist made so much to me. I really liked that, it gave a film an extra layer. I read that Stephen King was a big fan of this movie and I can understand why - that twist is right up his alley.This was Bill Paxton's directorial debut. I thought he did a fairly good job. You could tell he was working on a very tight budget at times, and that just makes his performance even more admirable. The real surprise for me came when I looked up the writer of the film Brent Hanley to find this was his one and only film, and the only other thing he has worked on since was by far the best 'Masters of Horror' episode 'Family'. Why is this man not writing more? A terrible waste of an obviously huge talent.'Frailty' is an excellent film with terrific performances and an outstanding ending to cap it all off. The only flaws for me come in the form of not quite enough attention given to hide the first twist, and the unfortunate necessity of having an incredibly annoying character (Paxton's) taking up a majority of the screen time. Other than that there's nothing not to like here. If you missed this on its original release take the time to go back and find it. You won't regret doing so.