Angels Crest

source: Angels Crest

To watch "Angels Crest" is a daunting experience. Similar in many ways to "Manchester By the Sea," the film is a haunting tale filled with pathos and horror at the unforgiving nature of the flawed nature of humanity. The stark beauty of the snow-capped mountains and endless vistas of the natural world are contrasted with the squalor of human life that ends in the death of a child. Ethan, a caring father, feels confident in leaving his little boy locked in his baby's car seat in the truck while he chases down some dear. But the kid loosens the buckle and walks out the vehicle to a wintry death. The rest of the film is the aftermath of that calamity. The strength of the film was in a set of extremely detailed and unforgettable characters. All of the principals and secondary roles were full of contradictory impulses and the basic stuff of life. An especially intriguing character was the district attorney, who wishes to prosecute Ethan to the fullest extent of the law. But there is an agenda behind the attorney's zeal that comes into focus when we see him weeping over the memory of the loss of his own child. Everyone will have a personal favorite among this group of fascinating characters, anyone of whom is capable of suffering the same tragic fate of a decent dad and basically a good person like Ethan. If only the film were not so bleak and unforgiving of human frailty, it might have been a masterpiece.

Angel's Crest aka Abandoned has an impressive cast but including the incredible Thomas Dekker who is the master of believable angst without it being overdone. But sadly the bad screenplay and poor characterization led to a disjointed, overplayed, horrible and totally depressing execution. The ending though true to the real story is totally tragic and will haunt me for weeks.....

Simple story with no twist or purpose really. Thousands of kids go missing every year and this story just reminds those families how easy it can happen. The film tells a simple tragic story with little to no entertainment value. Story line is thin, acting in most cases questionable and direction amateurish. Would we watch it again - No. Not retained for future viewing.

Didn't know the outcome but was hoping for redemption in this Alaska winter movie. It's got to be tough living those cold winters. Beside the slow pace, the bleakness didn't make for happiness. Added to that is the Hollywood requirement of a single blasphemy of Jesus whose love the movie could sure have used.

There is nothing challenging in the screenplay of this film, and the decision seems to have been taken to create a movie of a kind of easy access. It tries to treat a terrible occurrence in everyday lives, in a normal, small town community in those very terms, without making anything sensational. The film deals with issues which are always relevant to so many people - loss, guilt, coping, addiction and, let me say kind of demonology perhaps in authority - in the most basic terms. Unlike similar kinds of films, this one never thinks it knows, never thinks it has to go beyond the fundamental realities of these situations in order to picture them well. For me, this leaves a lasting impression and means that I can think about these issues actually, much more easily than if I had not seen this film. That's a rare occurrence in movies, to me. Usually I find that my mind is vacuumed by the end of a film, whether or not it was said to "deal with" issues or treat issues for discussion or awareness in the audience. A nice, serious film which seems to present something of real life. Certainly of real life concerns, without patronising, feeling the need to suggest that life is more than life really is, nor getting lost in a fictional world of fantasies that have no real meaning for humans today. There are twists, and the elements develop which allow the viewer to make conclusions for himself / herself. This then becomes the essence of this movie beyond the lovely cinematography, the latter becoming as an echo the expression of the ongoing, inexplicable beauty in life, a backdrop to the pain, struggles and torture. Though the script is simple, with no pretensions or irrelevant ambitions, some viewers looking for something else may consider this a weakness in the film. For myself, it is a very strong point in a well crafted piece, from original idea, through very good, simple dramatic acting, to a full, beautiful, simple, understated presentation in the whole production.

Where to start? Like Scrabble, all the pieces are there! Thomas Dekker. Thomas Dekker looks like what Michael Jackson might have hoped for with his 23rd plastic surgery. Thomas Dekker could don a long hair wig and play a female role without any further assistance from the make up department. Am I supposed to believe that this guys is a rugged outdoorsman? Jeremy Piven should have played the lead role! You dragged him out the way up to Canada for his short role! The producer should have kicked out the extra dough to cast Piven as the lead! You might have made your money back! The fact is, any male actor in this film would have been better in the lead role than Dekker. Dekker's luscious eye lashes and gentle features are a huge distraction! He is a pretty boy cast for a role that requires someone a bit more rugged, to put it lightly! This story is excellent and could have been knocked out of the park with some better casting decisions!

This movie is for the over 30 crowd. There is not enough action in it to hold interest for younger viewers. There is too much time spent in the movie with people running around and cursing one another. The actors try to do a good job, but with a bad script, it makes it difficult. The movie should not have spent so much time with the people running around trying to find the boy and condemning each other. More time should have been spent after finding the boy and contemplating what it meant to each of them (fewer supporting cast members). Loss of a child is more of a personal tragedy. The finding of the child did provide poignant moments. I would not watch this movie again, but I can understand how it might help those who have lost children knowing that others suffer as well. Bad things happen to good people. If movies can't entertain or teach, they should be able to help us somehow in our own lives. I give it 3 thumbs for those it might help.

Angel's Crest – TRASH IT (C- ) Angel's Crest is full of all the clichés of indie movies. The movie has an interesting plot where a young father losses his 3 years old son in the wilderness. Angel's Crest was supposed to be about the effects of kid's losing on the knit tight society. Angel's Crest has managed to grape a huge cast but sadly the bad screenplay and no characterization led to a poor execution of the movie. I use to think Thomas Dekker is a good actor but now watching him in various indie movies and TV shows. I realized that he is getting kind of boring. In Angel's Crest he was playing a father and first of all he didn't looked like a father and secondly which father does the eye rolling and looks more feminine? He was completely misfit in this role. Lynn Collin and Joseph Morgan did a decent job. Mira Sorvino, Elizabeth McGovern, Jeremy Piven and Kat Walsh were wasted in such pointless script. Overall, the heavy emotional part of the movie is lost between the bad screenplay and characterization.

The power of this film depends on your perspective. Have you raised a 3-year old? Have you experienced the death of a child? Most importantly, is the story believable and can you put yourself in to it? Unfortunately, few watching this film know it mirrors the real life story of Paul Wayment and his son Gage: The following are excerpts (Spoilers) from the real story found on pulitzer.org: "Six inches of snow covered the small body. Gage lay in a fetal position, his hands clenched, his eyes wide open. His pajama legs were up to knees; his feet had worn through his thin booties. His throat was blue. In his eyes were frozen tears." Paul Wayment's statement to the court: "If I could change places with my son, I would give up my life without question. But I can't. The life that I now live in is the hell that I alone created. The pain is incomprehensible. . . . The word 'sorry' does not even begin to express the feelings I now live with. . . . I admit full responsibility for my actions and will accept whatever punishment you deem appropriate." "They found his body (the father) on a sloping ridge next to a pair of binoculars, a Pepsi Big Gulp and a Winchester .243 hunting rifle. He'd picked a spot, surrounded by quaking aspens, that provided a view of the hills where they'd searched for Gage. Julie George imagined his final afternoon. He'd sat with the binoculars, surveying where Gage died. At sunset--he would have waited for his beloved dusk--he'd put down the binoculars and picked up the rifle." "At the courthouse that afternoon, (Judge) Hilder sat dazed in his chambers. Tears filled his eyes." http://www.pulitzer.org/works/2002-Feature-Writing Knowing the real story makes this film, Angel's Crest, much, much more powerful. It's too bad Angel's Crest wasn't made to be a true story with a follow up explanation at the end telling of the ongoing lives of the people involved. Those that have rated this film poorly or written unflattering reviews might want to watch it again after reading the true-life story.