IR Film Review: HEAD COUNT [Shout]
The context of escape and resolution simply comes from a life lived. With "Head Count", the lead character of Kat (Aaron Jakubenko) just wants to escape and yet his circumstances simply make him more prone to the possibility of loss. He starts off the movie on a chain gang of sorts but his method of escape comes off as little more than happenstance (a cougar attack). However the metaphor of that progression plays in more than one context. He, in a way, just wants to get back to his own life, which doesn't quite sound like all it was cracked up to be anyway. The bright spot is Jo (Melanie Zanetti), a bartender he met previously that he formed a connection with. The issue becomes whether, since he was sent to jail, if she is available. Someone always seems to be gunning for Kat, whether it is a cop or a mercenary sent to take him down. The cop in question: Sawyer (Ryan Kwanten) has a little bit more than a little corrupt streak. But that inclination leads to a scenario with a gun dealer in a house that is ironic and funny in its own way.
The framing mechanism of the film is a revolver and the amount of bullets in it that might make it possible for Kat to survive. He is helped on by his brother who is actually the heartbreaking one of the bunch because he does try to do nothing but good. The stakes are a little skewed because the approach seems very tongue-in-cheek so nothing really seems overly dire. One flashback gives a sense of what might be lost (it takes place at a would-be gambling establishment) but it is never quite set why Kat is indebted to these people or what control they have over him (if any). As he races to recover and get away from those that always seem to be waiting for him, it just leads him to the same spot where he is not in control. What he wants is clear but having it and surviving it are two different things. Jakubenko has the cool and the comic timing down but the "Raising Arizona" vibe never quite rachets up to what it could be despite some nice moments. B-
By Tim Wassberg
