IR Film Review: FLINCH [Ardor]

The idea of genre reflects in the texture many times of the hunter and the hunted. With "Flinch", production-wise, it provides that that nice slick gleaming underbelly of L.A. Borrowing tinges from "To Live & Die in LA", , the approach is interesting. The most glarIng sentiment is in Daniel Zuvatto who here is unrecognizable from his cop turn in the now-cancelled "Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels", where he was the least interesting of the characters unfortunately (even though he was the eyes of the audience). Here, lean and pared down facing an existential crisis, he is much more engaged in many ways as Joe Doyle. While the film wants to have harks to "Sicario" and "Scarface" in certain ways, especially with the inclusion of Steven Bauer (from "Scarface") as the father, it is the imbalances of an independent production that come through (though it does the best with what it has).

Tilda Cobham-Hervey plays Mia who is both pretty ad resourceful but there is another element about her. This reviewer wasn't aware that she had just played Helen Reddy either before or after this (depending when this film was shot) in the biopic "I A Woman". Cobham-Hervey brings both a fatale and an interesting dynamic with the genre to her portrayal here. The progression itself, though predictable in many ways, is an interesting reversal on the hitman. Most of the best scenes are in the bedroom with Mia controlling the space over Zuvatto's Doyle even though she is the one more in peril. Cathy Moriarty plays Doyle's mother with an old school approach with a litle bit of deadliness behind her but a love for her son. The context of the resolution allows for genre and real world connotations while understanding the dichotomy of the path they are taking. B-

By Tim Wassberg