SNITCH: ANYTHING FOR YOUR CHILD

What would you do for someone close to you? Point in question, what would you do to save your child? I doubt that anyone would say less than anything but when push comes to shove would you? That's the question faced by John Matthews (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) in SNITCH.

John's son Jason has lived with his mother ever since the divorce of his parents. When a friend insists on shipping him a box full of Ecstasy to hold for him the DEA breaks down the door and arrests him for possession with intent to sell. Mandatory drug laws (yes this is based not only on a true story but real laws now in effect) require that unless he co-operates by implicating someone else in the drug trade he could face up to 10 years in jail. Unfortunately the only person Jason knew was his friend who it turns out was caught before he could ship the drugs and set Jason up using this trade deal.

When John goes to DA Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon) and asks for mercy she explains that there is nothing she can do, the laws are set in stone. Unless Jason helps catch someone else he will serve the full term. When John offers to take his place, to find a way to help them catch dealers she turns him away. Refusing to let his son set in prison for a good portion of his life, John sets out to find a dealer on his own. The result is his being beaten and nearly shot.

Keeghan decides to take John up on his offer but only if he can get her a major player. John owns a construction company and looking through the applications of his employees he finds that Daniel James (Jon Bernthal) did time for distribution. He asks him to do nothing more than introduce him to a major dealer and is turned down. The need for money supercedes Daniel's decision to become straight and he sets John up with Malik.

An initial run for drugs gets the attention of the cartel supplying Malik and they decide to use John themselves. When the DEA agent in charge (Barry Pepper) decides to bypass arresting Malik on the chance he can catch the cartel's main man in the states, John is left between the two warring factions of the DEA and the cartel with little thought to his safety or the release of his son. It is now up to John to find a solution that will handle all players involved in this situation and get him what he needs to have his son free.

Dwayne Johnson has come a long way from his early films that relied solely on his action and physical skills. Slowly he's been developing acting chops that might never qualify him for an Oscar nomination but will elevate him from little more than a muscle bound action star. In truth this film is more about acting than action with almost zero fisticuffs for Johnson with the action not beginning until the last half hour of the film. It doesn't disappoint though as the story itself is engrossing and quite frightening to consider if you have children.

The rest of the cast complements Johnson in the lead with Sarandon's portrayal of a DA seeking political gain at all costs making her someone to root for and detest at the same time. The best surprise of all is Bernthal who proves that the work he did on THE WALKING DEAD wasn't all he is capable of doing. As another father under different circumstances but caring for his son as well, his character is more sympathetic than the good guys.

The craftsmanship behind the camera is as qualified as that seen in front. The photography is well managed with cameras catching all the action and rarely (if ever) resorting to bouncing hand held shots or close ups during the few action scenes. Director Ric Roman Waugh, who directed the well made but little seen film FELON, does a great job here and shows promise.

All in all this was a good movie that deserves more attention than it received in theaters. That could have been because it was marketed as an action packed slam bang film when in truth it's a solid drama. Go in expecting what it really is and give it a try and you will be pleasantly surprised.

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