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FEED (2005)
Director: Brett Leonard. Hacktors: Patrick Thompson, Gabby Millgate, Alex O'Lachlan. Rating/5: 
The lowdown: At a London press screening just before Christmas 2005, in a small Soho room, director Brett Leonard (The Lawnmower Man, Virtuosity) told us hacks that Feed is 'my film about America'. In all honesty, I'm not entirely sure what he meant, but there's no doubt that it's a pleasingly quirky ride. The wacky plot sees Sydney cyber-crime cop Phillip Jackson (Patrick Thompson) latching on to the subscription-only site FeederX.com (go ahead and try the link: you'll end up at the website of the Australian production company which made the film), which depicts obese women lying on beds and piling on the pounds as various unwise foodstuffs are funnelled down their necks. It all seems consensual enough, so is the proprietor Michael Carter (O'Lachlan) breaking the law? The further an increasingly obsessed Jackson looks into the case, the more the moral maze deepens... Good points: Feed moves fast and is fearlessly frank. Try saying that with an Extra Large Big Mac in your mouth. Leonard employs a pleasing economy of storytelling (Jackson and his quarry Michael Carter both have their childhoods summed up with a few quick flashbacks) and varies the tone from blatant humour to deadly serious. While some might see that as betraying a lack of film-making discipline, I'm often a fan of films with inconsistent feels, as you never quite know what's coming next. Feed's unpredictability is its big draw - it's a weird movie, but that's what we like, right? The moral complexities involved are also more thought-provoking than your average horror flick (not that Feed is that horrific in terms of gore, but will assuredly put you off your popcorn). As the supposed psycho Carter says, can it really be a crime to feed someone? If the elephantine women involved know what they're getting into, then what's the problem. Is Jackson the one with issues, given that he seems to have no control over his feisty girlfriend Abbey (Rose Ashton)? The climax gets pretty intense, with a neat twist ending. God knows where it leaves all the ethical questions... Bad points: Thompson and O'Lachlan's performances are generally good, but sometimes falter. Perhaps because of the script's variance in tone, they weren't entirely sure how to play certain scenes. There's also a weirdly-edited scene, which involves cop Jackson waking up with some fat injected into his stomach. DVD Details: No DVD release yet. Cinema first. Overall: Ignore the hype about Feed being the sickest movie ever. It's not, by a long chalk. Yet, given the recent glut of formulaic fare ('creepy' Japanese women with long-hair, zombie flicks...) it's nice to see an edgy piece of work which is genuinely different. If you hated it, I'd understand why, but to me it's a tasty dish. Watch this alongside Super Size Me and you'll never eat again. Release Date: Hits the UK's cinemas on February 17, 2006. [Home] © Copyright Slasherama 2002-present |