Two Cents is an original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team will program films and contribute our best, most insightful, or most creative thoughts on each film using a maximum of 200 words each. Guest writers and fan comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future entries to the column. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion.
The Pick
It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to Bill Paxton, one of the great character actors of modern Hollywood. Paxton was beloved by genre audiences for his iconic turns in Aliens (His improv’d line, “Game over, man, game over!” is entrenched in popular culture) and Near Dark, as well as his pulling off the hat-trick of being killed by an Alien, a Predator, and The Terminator.
But Paxton’s career was loaded with highlights far too wide-ranging to be included in just one article. He headlined blockbusters like Twister and Mighty Joe Young, added color and life to smaller turns in Titanic and True Lies, led the ensemble of the critically acclaimed HBO drama Big Love, and as an actor charted some of the darkest instincts of humanity with his performance in A Simple Plan.
Along with his many onscreen efforts, Paxton had an interest in directing, though he was only able to complete two features before his untimely passing (he was in pre-production on a third when he passed away). As a send-off, we chose his directorial debut, Frailty, which he both directed and starred in.
Frailty opens on a dark and stormy Texas night as FBI agent Powers Boothe arrives at his office to find a wild-eyed Matthew McConaughey (pre-McConaissance!). McConaughey claims that his recently suicided brother was the God’s Hand Killer, a multiple murderer that Boothe has been trying to locate. As Boothe drives McConaughey to the site where the bodies are supposedly buried, McConaughey regales him (and us) with the story of how his idyllic childhood was shattered when one night his beloved father (Paxton) came into his bedroom and announced that God had commanded him to kill demons.
The fact that said ‘demons’ appear to be ordinary people, and ‘destroying’ them usually amounts to hitting them with an ax over and over again.
Frailty was politely received when it first arrived in 2002 and garnered only moderate box office. But its star has risen in the time since release, with no less than Stephen King championing it. Today regarded by many as one of the great horror films of the 00’s, Frailty seemed like the perfect film to watch as a final tribute to a deeply beloved entertainer, gone before his time.
Did you get a chance to watch along with us this week? Want to recommend a great (or not so great) film for the whole gang to cover? Comment below or post on our Facebook or hit us up on Twitter!
Next Week’s Pick
We’re watching George Romero’s motorcycle-jousting movie Knightriders, starring Ed Harris and Tom Savini (and with Stephen King as “Hoagie Man”). If you’re wondering why we picked this, maybe you need to read that last sentence again. Knightriders is currently streaming free (with ads) on Vudu.
Would you like to be a guest in next week’s Two Cents column? Simply watch and send your under-200-word review to twocents(at)cinapse.co!
Our Guests
Greg Dedrick, co-host Nerds of Nostalgia and Nightmare Junkhead —
The passing of Bill Paxton hit the geek community hard and let’s face it, the guy was a fixture in genre films. His delivery was one of a kind and his presence always elevated whatever he appeared in. What most people don’t remember was his desire to get behind the camera and direct and his directorial debut, Frailty, showed he’s just as memorable behind the camera as he was in front of it.
I was lucky enough to see Frailty during its theatrical run and I can honestly say the film really messed me up. The sense of dread that Paxton creates in the film is palpable, and I left the theater feeling incredibly uneasy.
Here is where the story gets good. I took my younger cousin with me as I used to take her to movies all the time. Unfortunately after the film I was so unnerved that I had a brief panic attack when she didn’t come out from the bathroom. I was looking all around for her, convinced Otis had taken one more victim. Long story short, she was outside waiting for me, laughing at my state of unease. All that because of the power of Frailty and Bill Paxton.
With the passing of Bill Paxton, an always enjoyable to watch actor, I most regret that he was unable able to develop a side-career as a filmmaker. His 2001 directorial debut is a horror film with a lot more on its mind than just axe murders; it’s a deep, sad and thought-provoking movie that deals with subjects such as the bond of trust between a parent and child, themes of child abuse, and devout religious conviction in the face of all reason. All while counting to entertain. As an actor, Paxton delivers a rock solid performance playing a man who is either God’s assassin or a misguided, mentally unstable, but loving father. The character could have easily turned into cliche, but Paxton never plays the killer as a villain, never goes over-the-top and hams it up. With this film, Paxton illustrates what a great filmmaker he promised to be, only directing one other movie in his lifetime. What other fine films could have been in him, sadly gone too soon?
The Team
Frailty succeeds largely on the strength of its overpowering mood. From first frame to last, doom is soaked into the celluloid, which enables the film to build up a mighty head of steam as it goes along. It would be easy for a film so self-serious to slide into overwrought camp, but Paxton as director keeps a firm hand on the tone.
It helps that the movie has been cast to perfection, with everyone from seasoned pros like Paxton and Boothe to the young actors playing Paxton’s sons striking the right note of authenticity to make this world of demons and killers feel close at hand. This was also an early triumph for McConaughey, as Paxton finds the mania and danger behind the good ol’ boy surface that Hollywood spend close to another decade uncovering.
This is as assured a horror debut as any other I might name. Seeing the level of craft that Paxton was capable of for his first time out only rams home what a loss it is that he only completed one other feature. The tragedy of character actors is that they’re doomed to be beloved but never fully appreciated until after they’re gone, and with Bill Paxton it stings all the more to know just how prodigiously gifted he was, and how much more he might have had to give.
Bill Paxton was a character actor unlike many others. His contributions to genre film include Aliens, Predator 2, Near Dark, a small but iconic role in Terminator, Twister, Weird Science… and so many more. One of his greatest achievements, in my estimation, is a film he directed and played a great supporting role in, that of course being this week’s selection, Frailty.
Frailty is essentially a two man show, with Matthew McConaughey in the driver’s seat and Paxton right beside him. The framework is simple; McConaughey goes to a police station to give up the tapes on his brother, a murderous psychopath who kills in the name of God. As the audience, we are sitting right there with the detective, listening to his story.
The young actors portraying McConaughey’s Fenton Meiks and his brother Adam as children as also quite convincing in their interactions with Paxton, the man who began doing God’s work before passing it along to his sons.
I could go on about what it is I love about this film… and about Paxton, for that matter… however, I’ll just end by saying that if you are affected by the loss of Club Dread’s Coconut Pete (my favorite Paxton role), there are few better ways to celebrate him than diving into Frailty, a truly well done thriller that hits hard.
I wasn’t previously aware that Bill Paxton had ever directed, but a look at his filmography shows a surprising profile of a man who was best known as an actor, but also dabbled in every area of filmmaking. He also holds scattered credits as writer, editor, art director, set decorator, production designer.
Frailty is an engaging thriller that highlights the fine line between religious zeal and mania, as a loving father and devoted practitioner of faith (Paxton) becomes convinced that God has commanded him to discover and kill demons masquerading as humans. Paxton is both sensitive and scary as the religious Dad who has been swept up into a bloody crusade, punishing the wicked and trying to raise his sons in righteousness and make them understand that he’s following God’s orders. Years later, the current mystery is whether his adult sons have carried or buried his legacy.
Viewing Frailty now, it’s both encouraging to experience something great and personal that he both directed and starred in, and sad to know that he‘ll never get that chance again.