By Debbie Lynn Elias
There couldn’t be a more appropriate film to hit theatres this Thanksgiving weekend than Homefront. Based on Chuck Logan’s best selling novel, Homefront is rooted in hearth and home. Adapted for the screen by Sylvester Stallone, Homefront boasts a stellar cast, performances that go through the roof and a perfect blend of action and emotion, all expertly choreographed by director Gary Fleder. Led by Jason Statham and James Franco, each performance is as superb as the next, particularly when it comes to Kate Bosworth and the breakout star of the film, Izabela Vidovic.
Phil Broker (Statham) is a former DEA agent who, on the passing of his wife – and after a drug bust gone bad – together with his young daughter Maddy (Vidovic) has moved to a bucolic town in the Louisiana bayou. His dreams living a peaceful life are quickly shattered when Maddy fights back against the school bully, who just happens to be the nephew of local meth manufacturer, Gator Bodine (Franco), leading to an all out feud between the Bodines and Brokers. Adding fuel to the fire, not only is Broker still a lawman at heart, he is first and foremost a father. With the discovery of a drug lab in his new home, escalating violence at the hands of Gator and his boys, and the kidnapping of Maddy and her little kitten Luther, Broker is back in the saddle as no price is too high when it comes to protecting his home and his child.
Jason Statham can do no wrong and I adore him more with every role. Controlled, strong, fiercely protective and loyal, we see the action Statham we know and love as he goes mano a mano with James Franco and Gator’s henchmen.
Also stunning is Izabela Vidovic as Maddy, – a pint-sized female Statham. Emotion for emotion, move for move, smart ass look or response to mirror Statham, Vidovic is the real deal. And when it comes to James Franco, he is a delicious delight that you know will amp up the emotion with unpredictability and even a touch of humor.
Delivering one of the best performances of her career, if not the best, is Kate Bosworth. As tweaked out, drug-dependent mother Cassie, Bosworth turns on a dime and goes from bitch to protective lioness. This is truly tour de force work that, quite honestly, warrants awards attention. For Bosworth, “The interest in playing this character was connecting to the humanity and to also not strip her of her dignity.”
Had I not known going in that Sylvester Stallone had written Homefront, I would have known within the first 15 minutes; he has a wonderful format of construct that has finally come into its own and matured as he has matured. Where his early “Rocky” and “Rambo” scripts focused on singular character with supporting characters somewhat peripheral, now each is fully developed and formed, nothing and no one is extraneous or gratuitous; every piece of dialogue is essential to the story and – very key with guys like Statham who is so delicious with smart-aleck retorts – is planted early in the film in one context, but then comes full circle to be reiterated in a different context that just takes the double entendre to new levels. Stallone is masterful with the
dialogue construct for the characters of Broker and Gator, playing to the verbal strengths of Statham and Franco. Delicious! As Statham notes, “He’s such a prolific writer, and I think it’s easy to forget how many films he’s actually written. He really does care. He writes with a lot of heart. Instead of just concentrating on a couple of characters, he fills the whole story with great roles and he does it very, very well.”
One of the most appreciative aspects of the script is that Stallone doesn’t leave us hanging. There is a full and satisfying resolution to every character and every sub-plot of Homefront, none of which I am going to disclose, but suffice it to say, you won’t be scratching your head wondering what happened to whom.
The film also benefits from Theo Van de Sande’s cinematography. Van de Sande really mixes it up capturing and celebrating the beauty and tranquility of the deep south with the Broker home, the river, the trees dripping with Spanish moss, delicacy of the sunlight streaming through the trees, capturing the milkweed floating on rays of the sun. And thanks to production designer Greg Berry, attention to detail is meticulous – from the meth lab and Broker’s sabotage of it, to the horse stables to the yellow daisies on Maddy’s sheets. No detail is overlooked in establishing who each and every character is.
As much heart-pounding action as heart-stopping emotion, Homefront brings it home with action and heart.
Homefront. Directed by Gary Fleder. Written by Sylvester Stallone based on the novel by Chuck Logan Starring Jason Statham, James Franco, Kate Bosworth, Winona Ryder and Izabela Vidovic, Running time: 100 minutes. Rated R.
[adrotate group=”8″]
