Cook County

This is the backwoods meth lab slice. A family made up of a man, his daughter, his nephew and his father live in a shack in the Texas countryside. There are all the usual hangers-on, who have all the usual partying down. One day the man's brother comes home. That means the nephew has his daddy to stand up for him as he stands up for his little niece. Beautifully acted cinema.

"Cook County" was part of the Lone Star States section, focusing on Texas filmmakers, at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival. I attended the World Premiere last weekend and felt that I was witnessing the birth of a future indie classic.

Anson Mount ("The Battle of Shaker Heights," "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane") and Ryan Donowho ("Imaginary Heroes," "The O.C.") are cousins traveling down a path of drug-fueled self-destruction. The difference is that one wants out while the other is too far gone to care. Having a meth lab in the house is quite a convenient way of staying obliviated and Bump (Mount) takes full advantage of it. Abe (Donowho) might have been all too happy to play along if not for the fact that he sees his niece, Bump's daughter Deandra (Makenna Fitzsimmons in a career-launching role), being neglected in the process. Enter the prodigal son, Bump's brother Sonny (Xander Berkley), fresh out of prison. Sonny is determined to play peacemaker but his loyalties are divided.

The Texas backwoods set is almost another character, providing the perfect den of iniquity for the nonstop party. Natural lighting and hand-held camera, with frequent extreme closeups, enhances the claustrophobic feeling and brings the viewer right into the stench. I almost felt uncomfortable at times, as though I was invading their space. The soundtrack is haunting and the action unrelenting.

This is a true character-driven piece that can be difficult to watch at times but is hard to turn away from, like a wreck on the highway. Mount's performance is a tour de force and one of the best I've seen in a long time. Donowho is the perfect puppy dog who gets caught between a rock and a hard place in challenging his cousin for the safety of the girl. His work has always impressed me and this is by far his most challenging role, and he nails it. As intrigue creeps in the story becomes absolutely unpredictable. Writer/director David Pomes has crafted a masterful work which kept me guessing right until the end.

Kudos to the production team for getting every element right in telling this truly original story. I had no idea where "Cook County" was going and I suspect that's what life must be like for lowlifes like this.

I went to see this film at SXSW to keep a friend of mine happy and all I can say is...WOW! I'm not a film student or critic by any means. I'm just our average Joe that is not often overly impressed with most of the films that come out of Hollywood. THIS film, though, was well worth my time and I thanked my friend for getting me to see it.

Ultimately this film is about good, evil, and finding redemption. Xander Berkeley plays Sonny, a father who has taken a wrong path in life and is trying hard to make up for wasted time and broken relationships. You are not always sure what he is up to or if he will redeem himself or fall back to his old ways, but he finally finds his redemption through sacrifice in a most unexpected way.

Ryan Donowho does a very fine job as Abe, a teen in the unenviable position of being his 6-year old cousin's protector in a house full of meth addicts. Abe is doing the best he can and shows a lot of heart, but ultimately the situation is way over the head of somebody with such limited resources and life experience.

Anson Mount simply puts on the performance of his career. I can't say enough about what he put on screen. You're not going to like his character Bump, Abe's uncle and the father of a 6-year old girl whose life he seems determined to ruin in the worst way. He is a man who has completely lost any moral compass he may have had. He is the black hole in the cosmic center of this household. There seems to be no end to his addiction and self serving decadence. Mount brings a realism to this character that may well make your blood boil.

The film is raw and real. As one other reviewer stated, there are parts of this film that are hard to sit in your seat and watch. However, this is only because you'll want to jump into the screen and do something to change the course of events that define the impending train wreck of these peoples lives.

To me this film was a little choppy early which is the only reason I didn't give it 10 of 10, but in the end this is of minor consequence. This film is powerful. If you are looking for a glossed over look at drug addiction, go somewhere else. This film will slap you in the face with it.

Okay, some of the behaviors of the users in the film rang true, but mostly they're just a bunch of cliched actions by a relatively decent unknown cast. While superior to Spun, which was so over the top it was ridiculous, this film eventually spirals into just another mediocre drama. I liked the editing and some of the dialogue, but sadly the overall impression was one of a lost opportunity and disappointment. Twenty minutes could have been chopped off of this without detracting anything. Even taking into consideraton the erratic unpredictability of meth heads, they still went beyond the realm of credibility too many times. No sympathy for any of the losers in this mess. Meanders aimlessly for long stretches. The main character? You'll be so sick of his face and voice and him spewing nonsensical gibberish.

Whatever one might think about the content and context of this film, it is the truth. This is one of those exceedingly rare examples of filmcraft where everything was delivered about as perfectly as possible. The characters, the scenarios . . . the acting and direction is absolutely spot on.

I know this world, the tweeker universe and the absolute nightmare that comes with it. The story that is utilized as the delivery platform is very credible, the characters as delivered are as real as it gets. If anything, aside from the entertainment aspect that this film might deliver, this should be an educational film for anyone who is even remotely tempted to step into this universe.

Trust me on this one . . . it's a place you don't want to be, and I can't imagine a better delivery vehicle to get this point across than the content of this film.

Not even a nanosecond of hesitation . . . 10 stars, and then some.