Caught in the current

Undertow requires patience from the aver- age filmgoer. Even for an independent film, it takes a while to pull in the viewer. But once you’re in its grasp, it’s hard to let go.

When his wife died, John Munn (Dermot Mulroney) moved with his two sons to the family cabin in rural Georgia. With eldest son Chris (Jamie Bell) always getting in scrapes with the law, life isn’t easy. But the arrival of Uncle Deel (Josh Lucas) changes the course of things and, through the tragedy that follows, Chris is forced into adulthood.

Film buffs may be reminded of Charles Laughton’s classic 1955 thriller with Robert Mitchum, Night of the Hunter. Without giving away too much of the plot of Undertow, there are parallels in several departments. But the newer flick really finds its rhythm in the portrayal of Chris and younger brother Tim (Devon Allen).

Undertow works well in most areas, but it works best as a Faulkneresque saga of poor whites in the Deep South. Never mind that the time is now and the story takes place in Georgia, not in Faulkner’s preferred setting of Mississippi.

Director David Gordon Green shows tremendous empathy for his characters, avoiding both the cutesy Southern charm and the "squeal like a pig" stereotypes often seen in Hollywood films about the South. The movie borders on being an anthropological study of its environs as the two wayward brothers come in touch with various characters and situations.

This might seem trivial to most, but I was particularly impressed with how Green handled the actors’ accents. Bell is not the first Britisher to play a Southerner (Vivian Leigh won both her Oscars for playing Southern belles), but his smidgen of an accent sounds just right.

Lucas, having shown he can play the sleazebag in The Hulk, makes Uncle Deel a revelation. In keeping with Green’s tone, Deel is not a nice man but he’s certainly not one-dimensional.

Undertow is an example of what indie films used to be before Hollywood got its mitts all over them. It is challenging, gripping and often quite beautiful.

Undertow
R (violence)
Starting tomorrow at Ritz theaters
Three-and-a-half reels out of four

Recommended rental

At Home at the End of the World
R
Available Tuesday

Directed by Michael Mayer and based on The Hours, scribe Michael Cunningham’s novel of the same name, A Home at the End of the World chronicles the 1980s reunion of childhood best friends Bobby (Colin Farrell) and Jonathan (Dallas Roberts). Having known in each other since their high-school days in Cleveland, they are reunited when Bobby moves to New York City to be closer to his old friend and lover. Things go less smoothly than planned when Bobby falls for Clare (Robin Wright Penn), Jonathan’s eccentric roommate.