With the rise in popularity of the super hero film it was
only a matter of time before the negative side effects of super heroes were
seen as well. The first film in this genre was BRIGHTBURN and it was an amazing
film, a look at Superman had he not been the all American Boyscout that the
comics have him to be. Now a second film in the genre arrives, FREAKS, and it
has not as harmful a look but one that draws questions as well.
Seven year old Chloe (Lexy Kolker) lives in isolation with
her father (Emile Hirsch). Their house is boarded up and the windows have
newspaper over them, preventing not just anyone from looking in but Chloe from
looking out. He warns her not to go anywhere, not to step outside the door and
if he thinks she has, she’s punished for it. While some might suspect the movie
is about a kidnapper the truth is he honestly is her father and wants to
protect her. But from what?
When dad steps out to take care of items their survival
depends on, Chloe begins getting curious. That curiosity is egged on when a
book is dropped though the mail slot, a book about an ice cream truck. While
reading it she hears the bells of the truck, peeks out and sees it parked in
front of her house. Disobeying her father, she steps out and talks to the man
in the truck (Bruce Dern). A friendship develops and it isn’t long before Chloe
begins to wonder if there isn’t something wrong with her father.
But strange things with Chloe make the viewer wonder just
who has the issue. She talks to her friends who suddenly appear in her room, or
rather her room transforms into theirs. She also sees her mother somewhere
looking haggard, troubled and tied down. Their conversations talk about
warnings and being careful, much like her father’s do.
On one expedition outside dad returns wounded, shot in the
side. When he passes out Chloe takes advantage of it and goes for a ride with
the ice cream man. They visit and park and he talks to her about pushing
herself, releasing her true potential. When a policeman approaches the pair and
draws his weapon, Chloe gets upset and screams which causes the officer to
holster his gun and walk away. It also causes her eyes to bleed tears,
something her father warned her of earlier and that she saw advertised on a
sign.
So somewhat of a spoiler her now. If you don’t want to know
any more, then stop. What we discover is a world in which mutants have been
born, called freaks, who have different powers. When one such person had an
accident killing a number of people, it was decided to round up these powered
folks and provide them with a location all their own to live in. Or so it
seemed.
With each passing moment we learn more about these people
and how Chloe, father, mother and the ice cream man all have ties to them. We
also learn why Chloe is so special and how she will be the turning point for
all the “freaks” from here on forward.
Super hero film? Of course. This provides a take on the
mutants of comics, a mild riff on the X-men without actually calling it that or
saying the phrase mutant powers. But that is indeed what we are watching here.
A world where those who are different are captured and locked up by a world
fearful of them. They have every right to be afraid but had they chosen a
different path then what.
The movie unravels a bit at a time, never revealing too much
and allowing the actions on screen to tell the tale. The performances are
superb here, especially young Kolker on whose shoulders the film rests. Had she
not been able to pull off a believable performance the movie would have bombed.
Instead it soars with her performance alongside those of her co-stars.
The movie was not released in a way that garnered it much
attention but now that it’s on disc it makes up for that mistake. Now the film
can be discovered by a public that will appreciate the film. And while there
are other more major releases appearing my suggestion would be that this be the
film you give a watch this week.
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