This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Plot Overview
Twenty-something Jessica (Jules Willcox)
had married a magician for his flashy tricks. When the economy tanked
and his gigs weren't paying the bills, he took “the coward's
way out”; then after six months the bank came through and Jess
had enough money to relocate (“It's time to move on.”)
She packs a U-Haul trailer with her modest
possessions—except the potted sapling that didn't
fit—, hitches it to her car with the Oregon plates (sporting
a pine tree emblem,) and hits the road out of Portland. Across St. John's Bridge, she travels, over the
river and through the woods. With the Willamette River on her right,
her GPS advises
her her northward destination is four days away. She's packed
but she isn't packing, nor would we expect her to, considering her
hubby's manner of death.
In two days the roads have gotten narrower and narrower, so we figure she's really trying to get off by herself. She listens to audio books for company. She pumps her own gas, which is illegal to do in Oregon, so we figure her location for somewhere in Washington State. She makes a dicey pass around a flagger—or is it a texter?—in an SUV, shortly before her turnoff that her GPS wasn't ready yet to announce. Sam Dillon (Mark Menchaca) the other driver pegs her as being out of her element here and contrives a way to apologize in person. People are affable in the Pacific Northwest, but there's something creepy about this fellow. Somewhat like drivers in a Paul Levine novel:
In front of me was a Jeep with a sailboard on top and the red-and-white “diver down” decal pasted on the body, just above the license plate. In case we already didn't get the point, there were two bumper stickers: “Divers Do it Deeper” and “Have You Gone Down Lately?”Actually, no.
Still, that was a lot less offensive than the old bumper sticker from the Cocaine Cowboy days: “Honk if You've Never Seen an Uzi Fired Through a Car Window.”
No thanks. (215)
Since this is a thriller movie, we peg
Sam for a garden variety psychopath who set up his base of operations
where screams will be unheard and friendly overtures not spurned.
It's his good fortune that his broke-down vehicle, arm in a sling,
and thick eyeglasses evoke the props of the magician husband.
It's his bad luck to have kidnapped a magician's assistant who can
escape a locked room, secretly lift his cell phone, and conjure up who
knows what on it. An aide is used to being guillotined on stage,
skewered with swords, or sawn in half. When psychopath Sam jabs, plugs
and bodily slams her, why, she takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.
Ideology
Once out of confinement, though, she'll find herself in a vast forest she has no idea where. Much cinematic effort is devoted to displaying the canopy of leaves blowing in the wind, the nexus of roots underfoot, and the relentless rain watering the ground. We think of the sorry sapling stuck in a planter on the sidewalk, how it would be right at home in this woodland with other trees. Not Jessica, though. She'd be better off on the sidewalk surrounded by civilization. We might formulate her predicament as, (Eccl. 4:9-12)
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
After we've witnessed Jessica do her stuff, we can't help but think her husband magician might have done better to use her more in his act, to “have a good reward for their labour.” Then he wouldn't have needed to take an extraordinary measure.
Wandering and pursued, Jessica encounters a lone hunter Robert (Anthony Heald.) There are no other hunters seen in the area or shots heard. His Oregon license plate says he's a long ways from home. He's evidently come to this remote area out of season to do some poaching where game wardens are few and far between. Jess's tale of woe conflicts with Sam's cock-and-bull story, and Robert is understandably reluctant to involve the police. If he had a buddy with him, he'd be harder for Sam to get the drop on, but he doesn't.
There's also the matter of Jess's cold bare feet. Robert is happy to lend her his wife's boots, but no Robert, no boots.
Finally, Jessica phones two parties with Sam's cell. Now, even if he kills her, somebody will be looking for him. And if he doesn't manage to kill her, his smooth talking is unlikely to convince both of them. The three of them all but guarantee his goose is cooked.
Production Values
“” (2020) was directed by John Hyams. It was written by Mattias Olsson, being a remake of the 2011 Swedish film, Försvunnen (Gone.) It stars Jules Willcox, Marc Menchaca, and Anthony Heald. The actors—all three of them—were well chosen and gave sterling performances. MPAA rated it R for violent content and language.
The photography was sublime, but the background forest noises were overdone; those tweety birds never let up. The music blended in rather than trying to dominate the whole picture as sometimes happens in B-movies. The thunderstorm darkened the mood for sure, but lightning is relatively rare in the Pacific Northwest. This can all be forgiven.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
Sometimes less is more. Most of the background drama is revealed by Jessica crying over cell videos in her motel room at night, and by her psycho captor acting as her canny ad hoc therapist. This gives the feeling we are privy to her inner secrets outside of the camera's glaring spotlight. The cat and mouse pursuit in the forest is second to none. This drama cum thriller can't be beat.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Well done action flick. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Well done special effects. Suspense: Don't watch this movie alone. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Overall movie rating: Five stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture quoted from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.
Levine, Paul. Bum Rap. Text copyright © 2015 Paul Levine. Seattle: Thomas & Mercer, 2015. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org