[Review] Dennis Quaid channels Nicolas Cage in "The Intruder"



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Throwing a counter actor or actress is always a bet. Sometimes it works (Robin Williams in Photo of one hour) and other times no (Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker's Dracula). However, if there is anything to be said for the counter casting, it is that the performances are rarely boring, however bad they may be. When Is work, it can bring the worst films a certain level of observation. That's exactly what L & # 39; intruder offer: a thriller painfully by the number of houses / thriller that boasts of a fantastic counter-type casting in Dennis Quaid like his nasty owner.

In L & # 39; intruderScott (Michael Ealy, The perfect guy, next year The ladder of Jacob remake) and Annie (Meagan Bon, Saw V, the unborn child) Howard buys the house of his dreams in Napa Valley from charming widower Charlie Peck (Dennis Quaid, Pandorum, Legion). The Howards know little that Charlie is not ready to let his house go, and they are soon immersed in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the former owner more and more distraught, hiding a dark secret under a friendly behaviour.

In the last 11 years, screenwriter David Loughery we "gifted" with thrillers like, Obsessed (review), 3D nurse (Revision and Lakeview Terrace (writing first by himself and working with a co-author on the last two). Only one of those who really delivered on the campy hilarity of his principle (this would be 3D nurse), then from where comes L & # 39; intruder to fall into the mix? Somewhere in between. Although this is certainly an improvement over Obsessed, a movie that should have been much more fun than it was, it does not have the incredibly enjoyable quality that 3D nurse has to shovel. Keep in mind that none of these movies is "good", but the more they rely on their ridiculous qualities, the better they end up being. the Intruder too often straddles the line to take himself seriously and embrace his camp, not just pick a side and run with him. It turns out to be his loss.

There are some ostentatious moments scattered throughout the film (again, mainly due to Quaid's performance and some of Loughery's more laughable lines of dialogue), but the film did not follow. Except for a sequence in which Charlie spies on Annie while she takes a shower (which seems destined to cause masturbation but leads nowhere) and to an almost stupid rape scene that is at best tasteless and at worst extremely misguided (this would be less of a problem if the movie was really engaged in the camp), L & # 39; intruder is rather without teeth. It would be rather to see Charlie's delicate scenes suddenly appearing at the Howard's new residence, fitting into their lives with a hilarious effect. If it was not for the crazy energy of Quaid during these scenes, L & # 39; intruder would be a rather dull affair.

Loughery repeatedly introduces intrigues that are useless (the digitalis, the poisonous flower that Howard's new home used to cultivate in abundance), is so often evoked that she might as well s & nbsp; To call Chekhov's digitale had no meaning for the plot). He is also trying to introduce an extramarital conflict into the seemingly happy relationship of Scott and Annie, but this subplot could have been removed from the film and it would make no difference (without a shorter duration). And the least we can say is that half-cooked attempts to make statements about gun control and race relations are preferable. One can not help wondering if there is a longer version of the film that would develop some of these abandoned plot points. Surely there must be, right?

The intruder review

From left to right: Meagan Good and Michael Ealy

Under Deon TaylorS (Meet the blacks, Traffik) direction, L & # 39; intruder does not really succeed to be a thriller, with very little tension created during the 102 minutes that the film lasts. Get ready for many camera pans that slowly reveal Charlie's position in a corner or sudden jump fears in which he knocks on a door or appears behind Annie. It's rather pedestrian and does not make the thriller the most exciting. It's not badly managed, notice. It's not particularly inspired.

And even. And even. Dennis Quaid is so glorious in this film that he is almost worth a recommendation in himself. It lights a fire under the film every second it goes on the screen, making choices that one could call good, others that one could call unadvised and others simply ridiculous. Anyway, you will want to watch the movie that Quaid thinks is playing, because this movie is extremely entertaining.

Ealy and Good are unfortunately forced to play directly to Quaid's performance in the manner of Nicolas Cage, which means that their scenes are together when the film suffers the most. They are not interesting characters. This is not the fault of the actors (they do what they can with their subscribed roles). Does not help things, it's the fact that Annie is so stupid, constantly worshiping Charlie's act long after its expiration date, you could imagine that she has everything Charlie has planned for her coming (she does not, but that does not make her bad choices less frustrating). Scott, on the other hand, is a kind of jerk, so by the time he starts to understand Charlie's act, you may have a hard time understanding what he's done.

Let's be honest though: the real attraction here is to see Quaid run wild in an unbalanced role, and that's fine. If you've seen the trailer for L & # 39; intruderyou probably have a good idea of ​​how everything will work out. Real surprises are rare (even the final scene, which initially seems silly, recalls an end very similar to that of a Julia Roberts thriller of the early 90s), so it's up to the actors to sell the film mediocre material. Quaid is more than ready to take up the challenge and Ealy & Good does what he can.

A Lifetime movie released in theaters, L & # 39; intruder is not a good movie, but it's is a fun one. Although it's never scary or exciting, it's stupid enough to spend a fun Friday night at the movies (after having had a few, of course). The press screening of the film encouraged viewers to "look aloud" by expressing their reactions as loudly as they wished during their viewing. If it sounds odious, it's because it is, but it's made to make for a memorable viewing experience. Based on the laughter heard in the audience, everyone thought that it was a comedy. If only someone involved in the film (aside from Quaid, because he gets it) also thought so.

Sony Pictures will release L & # 39; intruder in the national halls on May 3, 2019.

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