A Fair Endeavour

I have always been a fan of actors becoming directors.  It gives them a chance to showcase their talents on the other side of the camera.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not, but either way it is always interesting to see.

Frailty is an example of an actor making a decent directorial debut.  In the film, Bill Paxton's character thinks that people are demons, and that God is telling him to vanquish these demons.  Bill Paxton directs and stars in the film, along with Matthew McConaughey.  A majority of the film is told in past-tense, with Bill Paxton being the father of  McConaughey's character.  This movie is relatively open to interpretation, leaving the viewer to decide whether the people in this movie really are demons, or whether Paxton's character has just gone crazy.

I feel like this movie suffers from an identity crisis.  It is scary and cheesy, and it should not have been that way. It should have been one or the other.  Attempting to do both confuses the audience.

I have always thought that Matthew McConaughey was a very good actor.  I always tell people to go back and watch Amistad because he is brilliant in that film.  Yes, he did have a string of romantic comedies, but that was a case of an exceptional actor being in some bad movies.  It is great to see him get his career back on track.  Unfortunately, he is not utilized well in this movie.  His character serves mainly as a voice-over, which by default I utterly despise.

Bill Paxton is very cheesy in the film, which is a shame because I think he is a decent actor.  His acting suffers from the same thing the movie suffers from:  he does not know whether to overact or play it straight.  He is extremely over the top, and it falls flat.

Frailty was Bill Paxton's directorial debut, and I would say it is a decent outing.  I know it sounds like I am crapping on the film, but there are some redeemable qualities about the film.  Overall, if you are looking to rent a movie that is "just okay" as my friend Joshua Thomas would say, I would say give this movie a shot.