I actually put The Joyriders on knowing nothing other then it starred Martin Landau and Shawn Hatosy and it was called The Joyriders, so it's rare I go into a film totally blind not even knowing the plot, but here goes.
The film is about a suicidal elderly man (Landau) who ends up getting "kidnapped" by three wayward teens (Hatosy, Elisabeth Moss and Heather McComb) and though I predicted the direction the film was going to go (that they would start to identify with each other, care for each other etc.) I ended up really liking it once it get, I wish it would just get there a touch sooner.
I had a problem with the "kidnapping" which I have put in quotes because the film still wants you to identify with these characters that it's really something that is out of the kids control, it kind of doesn't make sense though how they end up taking Landau, mostly because it doesn't seem in their character until it actually happens.
The 4 leads characters gelled together really well particularly Landau with Moss - the more naive, sweetheart of the trio (Hatosy more immature and McComb more live wire) and she plays the sort of character you could fall in love with simply because she is so undeniably sweet even if her life as gone to shit. There is a good smaller role for Kris Kristofferson as a friendly preacher, he's enjoyable for the time he's on screen. The sole bad casting for me was Diane Venora as Moss' mother she just didn't deliver a very good performance.
Overall, the first part is not a bad film but the second part is very good, the longer the film goes the more you start to feel for the characters and by the end you are hoping for a happy ending for everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment