vchimpanzee
Ansel is giving a presentation about cults at a hotel. At the start of the movie, He believes he is entitled to a free meal in exchange for the presentation, but his scam doesn't work. Also, he is being kicked out of the hotel because the free room he was promised was just for one night, and yet he still has to give the presentation. This means staying in his car once the presentation is over.Paul and Evelyn attend the presentation. Knowing Ansel is an expert on cults, they ask him to get their daughter Claire out of a cult. In exchange for a free meal, he listens, but of course it will cost them thousands of dollars for him to do his job, and even then there is no guarantee. Meanwhile, photographer Terry, who is his business manager, expects Ansel to pay him a lot of money which he owes. Mick, who has a really sophisticated accent and an uppity personality, is sent to Ansel with a document detailing exactly what Ansel must do. Ansel's money problems stem from his divorce, in which the ex got the proceeds from his first book. His second book is not selling,Ansel hires goons to find and kidnap Claire. She is taken to a motel where Paul and Evelyn are in the next room, and so the process begins. Claire is unaware her parents are next door, but Ansel assures her he is his friend and she won't be hurt by his goons as long as she cooperates. With her newfound religious faith, Claire is able to resist demands for her to go back to her old life. She refuses to be called Claire as that is just the person she was before and the other person occupying her body. Time, the physical body, gender and other concepts have become meaningless. However, Ansel comes across as being like a psychologist who is only trying to understand his patient. It's not like what I would believe "deprogramming" to be. And while he could be taking advantage of her, as her parents are afraid he is, he is respectful.Eventually, Claire discovers her parents are in the next room, and they have brought her clothes which she is reluctant to wear because they are her old life (I question those short shorts, given how conservative her father is, but she does look good in them). She is happy to see her parents but protests when she is called "Claire". Still, signs are there that Claire may come back to her old life.With Terry still demanding his money, Ansel asks Paul for half his fee. Paul protests, but Ansel doesn't want to be visited by Terry's goons, and he delivers the money to Terry, who seems nice but shows another side entirely. Meanwhile, things don't go as planned back at the motel.
So what we have to ask is whether Ansel will be able to return Claire to her old life. Will Ansel succeed in his life? Will he at least be able to pay Terry?I couldn't say what happens at the end if I wanted. Well, I could, but I couldn't explain it.The movie may have been made in 2014, but the TVs in the motel have channel changers that go "clunk, clunk, clunk". I miss those. In this digital era, those would not be possible. Also, somehow, the TV plays a VHS tape. I didn't see the VCR, but we see a tape of a TV episode where Ansel takes advantage of a victim of a cult, making money and getting famous by showing the world her emotions. This is a very complicated movie. The summary that came with my TiVo listings called it "drama, thriller, suspense". They forgot comedy. At least for the movie's first half, it is quite obvious that we are supposed to laugh, even though the humor is quite dark and disturbing. Ansel's goons are funny. Well, one of them, anyway. Leland Orser is definitely funny, but comes across as quite intelligent when he finally shows he knows what he is doing. Mostly Ansel is a moron, but Orser , on the other hand, really knows what he is doing even then. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who has done a great job in several roles where I have seen her, does a fantastic job here. No, she's not really funny in most scenes (though she is when she gets flirty), but she doesn't have to be. I would call her scared and submissive in the early scenes, but there is a strength and confidence that come through, based on her faith in this quirky religion. Later on she is the one who is clearly strong and confident, in the sense we usually see these qualities, and she seems to be examining and treating Ansel, as if she is the psychiatrist and he is the patient. In a more popular movie, such a performance might get an Oscar nomination.
The parents are pretty much what one would expect. Once he feels he is being taken advantage of, the father becomes very demanding and threatening. The mother is more pleasant.
It's not family friendly and it wouldn't be expected to be, but aside from a few bleeped words and one entire scene where the sound goes out, I guess it's not so bad. It is a worthy effort.
heaintgonnadie
the movie started out real great. seemed to be an exiting film about saving a girl from a cult, the complex mind game it takes to deprogram someone. but that was not how it turned out. (SPOILER PART) Instead it turns out to be some sort of cult plot, to get him in to the cult? i really couldn't say, it seems kind of vague, when it comes to the motives of the group. so instead of being this poor confused girl, she turns out to be a psychological master mind, easily making his victim throw away any form of sensible reasoning.the story seemed to be all over the place, and as you near the end, you realize that they tie it together in the worst possible form they could. the week ending ruins the film.
Argemaluco
I don't know why, but the cults are becoming a fashionable trend in contemporary cinema. In the last 5 years, we have been watching films such as Martha Marcy May Marlene, Red State, Sound of My Voice and The Sacrament, whose focuses vary considerably, but they all examine the disturbing phenomenon of brainwashing, and the apparent ease with which some people let themselves be dominated by charismatic leaders who promise some kind of spiritual salvation when, in fact, they only seek their own benefit. The film Faults presents a very interesting perspective, moving away from the "commune" and the specific details of the cult, in order to focus into the regenerative process of lost identity. And, if that were not enough, it also makes character studies about the victim and the analyst, gradually revealing their particular psychologies and the internal travel which took them to the struggle of wills which hold big part of the movie. Faults presents us a "hero" defeated by life... something like the classic alcoholic detective from various cop films, or the priest without faith who is so common in horror cinema, but even more down at heel (I point out the fact that Faults doesn't belong to either of those genres). This tortuous main character complicates the situation more, and makes a Faults a subtle and fascinating thriller, in which not only the victim's future is in danger, but also her redeemer's. The screenplay of Faults shines because of its precision and sagacity, keeping us in suspense during the whole film, until leading to a satisfactory ending. And then, we have the excellent performances, starting by Leland Orser as the main character. Orser is one of those actors whose names we don't know, even though we immediately recognize their faces when we see them in a film or TV series. I revised his filmography, and I confirmed the fact I had seen him in many movies, without specifically remembering him in any of them. Faults will undoubtedly rectify that situation, and I estimate that his extraordinary work as a "loser" seeking redemption will get him out of that limbo of character actors who always make their mission but go unnoticed. Mary Elizabeth Winstead also brings a perfect performance as the victim of the cult; she's modulated in her role, but she never loses spontaneity or passion. The premise of Faults might sound similar to the one of the previously mentioned Martha Marcy May Marlene, but its levels of meaning transcend the victim's mentality and offer more ambitious and interesting reflections about human condition and its virtue/fault of seeking spiritual fulfillment, even for the sake of the own identity. The screenplay of Faults might occasionally make a few small traps, but that didn't avoid me from liking it very much, and I definitely recommend it as a hypnotic and audacious thriller, specially to those ones who find the concept and existence of "cults" equally intriguing.
