Shia LaBeouf is someone who, for being as weird as he is, was shunned from Hollywood (or at least from mainstream Hollywood) and quickly forgotten about. He’s the actor that when people mention his name others scoff or can’t help but mention the “Just Do It” video that he starred in almost four years ago. What people often forget--or have managed never to realize--is that Labeouf really is an incredibly talented actor. By the time he was thirty years old he would have starred or appeared in nearly fifty things spanning film series, such as Michael Bay’s Transformers franchise, television shows and Sia music videos. At one point in time people accepted the raw talent of Labeouf and regularly casted him in popular entertainment. Prior to him breaking the internet with his nonsensical videos, he was brought on board by D.J. Caruso to portray Kale, a vulnerable, yet rebellious teen, who finds himself in more trouble than most would know how to deal with. LaBeouf’s performance in this film is proof that he should continue to be casted in Hollywood in much more pivotal roles than he is currently used to. SL’s opposite in this film, Mr. Turner (David Morse), was, similarly, a phenomenal choice for this film. The actor and the character worked well with everything that Caruso had planned for the film. Morse was so wonderfully creepy that I can’t imagine anyone else playing the part. The film’s plot line actually takes a backseat to the antics of three teenaged children who are connected for a number of reasons. The love story between Kale and Ashley (Sarah Roemer) makes its way to the forefront of this film and ultimately takes over as the leading story. Turner’s story is sprinkled in throughout the film and eventually takes shape in the final thirty minutes (or so). This seems like a tactic that could have (and probably did) disappoint audiences that went to theaters to see a dramatic, suspenseful story about a serial killer. I personally felt that slowly introducing the story of Turner and his skeletons worked as it, in many ways, forced suspense on the viewers. Ashley and Kale’s story was interesting enough not to turn audiences off to the film all together and keep them asking for more of Morse and whatever it was about him that was going to come to light in the end. The story, ultimately, moved slowly, yet, it worked due to Kale’s situation. Being under house arrest, I would imagine, would be terribly boring and make the days drag. Like Kale, the onlookers are forced to take everything in just one step at a time rather than running through a story at a pace that could have hindered the film’s final product. The film falls short of my expectations of a great thriller, but the combination of Labeouf and Morse allowed me to appreciate each moment and, in turn, the film as a whole. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486822/?ref_=nv_sr_1
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