Beneath the Leaves

source: Beneath the Leaves

Let me begin by saying that both Paul and Mira Sorvino are on my list of favorite actors. They are genuine pros, yet even their efforts cannot raise this stinker above mediocrity. There is really nothing new here, and what they do present is cliched so badly as to be embarrassing, i.e., the hip, sloppily dressed detective, the female detective maligned by sexist co-workers, the escaped prisoner looking for revenge, etc. Every turn of the plot is so choreographed that any suspense has been thrown to the wind. I've heard it said that winning an Academy Award can actually cause harm to a performer's career. This film may be direct evidence of that, as it's so very sad to see Mira Sorvino attached to such an anemic film effort as this.

"Beneath the Leaves" seeks to unite two narrative strands related to abused children. One strand focuses on two Bly kids who set their house ablaze with their alcoholic, abusive father inside. The second strand concerns four boys who were held captive in a mine shaft by a psychopath, prior to their daring escape. Years later, after another fire, the psycho escapes from prison and starts stalking the four boys who are now grown men. First, the entire premise of the film is an unpleasant, unwholesome, and extremely depressing topic. Second, the filmmakers fail to connect the two plot strands except for one detail that links the little boy involved in the Bly home fire to the psychopath Whitley in hot pursuit of the four grown men, Josh, Brian, Matt, and Georgie. SPOILER ALERT: For those viewers interested in the minute plot detail the solves the riddle of messy narrative, here it is: apple harvest. END SPOILER ALERT. The slow pacing only adds more misery for the film viewer, who was expecting a film that featured the outstanding performers Mira Sorvino and her father Paul. Mira's detective wears a fashionable hat while on the job, and the hat is more interesting than her character. Big Paul plays the hapless chief of police who has as much trouble controlling his wacky police office as he does in tracking down the villain. For most of the film, the chief is sitting at his desk. This film demonstrates why any work of cinema must start with a screenplay that develops both action and characters in a coherent way. In the case of "Beneath the Leaves," the action was far-fetched and the characters uniformly unlikable.

I feel like Paul Sorvino only did this one to do some work with his daughter but maybe there were other reasons. His role is merely a marketing ploy to get people to watch but his role isn't very big. The acting is absolutely horrendous. I don't know who directed this but it almost seemed like a PA was standing behind the camera with a dry erase board for them to read their lines off of. When there is a pause between lines exchanged by characters it sounds forced, and read instead of authentic. The scenes where the characters get highly emotional are about as exciting as the acting gets but those moments again don't fit well with the rest of their acting making it seem awkward and unbelievable. The movie did have a great start but it was confusing. It's only about 3/4 of the way through the movie that we learn the back story that was told in the beginning of the movie, and who those characters were. I guess if I had to say anything nice I would say the killer was a little devious and good in his role and acting but I was still rather confused from beginning to end. Maybe I am missing something??? I think this was a good attempt to bring something low budget to life but it is a flop.

I personally liked the movie. Those saying the beginning haf nothing to do with the movie must not have paid attention.*SPOILER ON HOE THEY ARE CONNECTED* Little boy was obviously Whitley and the little girl was the hotel clerk. In beginning of movie when little girl was outside she had half an apple and was humming while she buried the bird. Fast fwd. To end of movie.. The lady was burying the body and put the apple tree over the body and put in the nails with it while humming the same song she did as a little girl when burying the bird...

"It's a cyclical pattern". So says the character of PI Erica Shotwell in Beneath the Leaves (my latest review). "Leaves", well it's quite the "sickening" movie. In "Leaves", an ill-defined psychopath escapes from an elaborate prison fire. Twenty years after being incarcerated, he vows to carry out his mission to kill four boys (now grown men) he had once held captive. Said psychopath also has an obsession with lethal injection needles, drugged alcoholic beverages, and ripped out fingernails. Ouch, ouch, and double ouch! Starring the likes of Paul Sorvino, Mira Sorvino, and Mira's husband Christopher Backus (talk about a Sorvino family affair), "Leaves" turned a little brown for me On Demand. I will say this though. Mira Sorvino sure is sexy and badass as a mirrored, Mariska Hargitay-style detective. At age 51, she's still a tall drink of water and a darn knockout. Clocking in at 90 minutes flat and distributed by Eagle Films (various birds tend to show up metaphorically here), Beneath the Leaves is worth watching again even though I couldn't quite bring myself to recommend it. Basically, "Leaves" is part mystery thriller, part Law & Order: SVU episode on steroids, part torture *, and part Sleepers for the modern day. Look for plenty of grisly killings, a rare Julian, California locale, and the most outlandish overacting since Rod Steiger played a frothing Mayor and Danny Aiello played a douche Captain in 1989's The January Man. In conclusion, the director of "Leaves" (rookie Adam Marino) fashions a film that is sometimes haunting, sometimes discombobulating (the opening scene in relation to the rest of the flick is kind of head scratching), and sometimes veered into camp. With a weird mixture of barbarity and out of place humor, Beneath the Leaves may make you feel effectively icky but it's still sort of "beneath" me. Rating: 2 and a half stars.

Great film with an amazing cast and lots of twists, and based on a true story. One of the top movies for the summer for sure!!!

The movie started out ok. I mean, I knew it was sort of a B movie to begin with, so I was ready for some good B movie action. It was not to be. The film quickly lost its way, meandering here and there and never really exploring anything at all. The acting wasn't bad, but no one really stood out. The characters were shallow and not very well written. I managed to get through it, but just barely. I gave it 3 stars, but 2 1/2 of those are just because I like Paul Sorvino.

The central theme lying at the heart of 'Beneath The Leaves' is the sense of how your past always comes to haunt you. The locations that were used in the film were very interesting which makes the film look dark and cinematic; but also serves a thematic purpose. The shots used in this film were extremely active and he made great use of space in the interiors exteriors skillfully. He uses extended long takes to raise the tension and his use of ambient noises and music is subtle and brilliant. The very first shot of the film itself is just masterful. I know there have been a lot of mixed reviews but I get why people might have a hard time following this film. It is a bit of a satire at times but takes itself very serious. To me that is what makes this film feel so unique and fresh. It doesn't spend too much time in developing its characters. Both sides in the conflict displayed unconditional sympathy. I guess it was intentional on the director's part to stage the film with a degree of moral ambiguity where the viewer has sympathy for the killer which I found very interesting. Without Adam Marino and his masterful directorial storytelling skills, this film would not work. He elevated this (already) interesting script. To end, I'll say 'Beneath The Leaves' is a film that I would highly recommend!

Some people said they had no idea why the beginning was in the movie. Are you serious? It is explained that, obviously, the killer is the boy, and why he's obsessed with fingernails. Duh. Anyway, loved that Paul and Mira were in the same movie. She was great as always. Strong storyline. Nice twists. Interesting statement on the foster system, PTSD, alcoholism, and other mental health disorders. All, in all, was a great thriller.