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The Lesser Evil
Four best friends reunite in a remote cabin for the first time in two decades. They are not there to reminisce about the good old days, but rather, to sort out the deadly details of one fateful afternoon in their past, when they all skipped school - and their lives were altered forever. Now the haunting truth has caught up with them, along with the reality that they are probably heading for jail. But in the soul-searching angst of deciding right from wrong, the though of going down after all this time seems incomprehensible. And with the authorities hot on their trail, the old friends quickly realize that someone has to pay and their only option to remain free is to sacrifice the only thing they've held on to for years... each other!
| Release : | 1998 |
| Rating : | 6.5 |
| Studio : | Moondog Productions, |
| Crew : | Art Direction, Art Direction, |
| Cast : | Colm Feore Tony Goldwyn Arliss Howard David Paymer Steven Petrarca |
| Genre : | Drama Thriller |
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Reviews
I love this movie so much
Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful
Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.
Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
"Lesser Evil" is a 1998 film starring Colm Feore, David Paymer, Tony Goldwyn and Arliss Howard. It's very well directed by David Mackay, and the script by Jeremy Levine and Steven Schultze is excellent. The film starts at a funeral presided over by a priest (Howard) who then tells the story in flashback. As teenagers, four buddies - Ivan (the priest, played as a young man by Marc Worden), George (Alan Scott/Paymer), Derek (Jonathan Scarfe/Feore) and Frank (Steven Petrarca/Goldwyn) are being crazed, drunken, out of control lunatics in the woods when George (Adam Scott/Paymer grown up) shoots into a car, gravely injuring the driver. The driver has a shotgun on his lap. He also has something else, which is revealed later in the film. The kids become completely hysterical and, as the man isn't dead but seems close to it, they attempt to rush him to a hospital. Then they change their minds and take him back to the woods, where he dies hours later, helped along by one of them when they see police lights.Twenty years later, the gun that killed the man has surfaced, and the police question its owner, Derek (Feore), who has called them all together. George has become an attorney, Frank a police officer, Ivan a priest, and Derek's business is failing. He has made a mess of talking to the police and is a wreck. Ivan thinks they should go to the police and tell them what happened all those years ago, though they had all made a pact to protect George and keep quiet. Then they realize that George has been getting everything on tape and that Frank has been keeping a big secret from them all these years.Fascinating story of the ramifications of guilt even after "getting away" with something and how guilt molded the lives and personalities of each man and changed their relationships with one another. In that way, it's a tiny bit like "Mystic River." With Colm Feore in it, the acting can be nothing less than spectacular. He is one of my favorite actors, having seen in perform at Stratford in Canada several times. The leads are all excellent, and the young men who play them as teens are superb.There's a twist at the end. You won't want to miss this superlative drama that could only come from an independent filmmaker, as Hollywood is too busy with cartoon characters and blowing up things.
I won't go on describing the plot outline as you can get that from just about any other review on here. All I will say is that the film is far above the expectations of most people, but in truth isn't as amazing as some people make it out to be.It is well written and directed and the acting is reasonably good. The "brilliant twist" at the end to me felt like it was done just to follow the formula of these films, and didn't really feel like it was a natural part of the script. Also, it was quite predictable.But don't dismiss it, and if you have a chance do watch it, it won't be a waste of your time (unless your idea of a good film is Vin Diesel shooting things or racing flash cars for 2 hours).
Why did they have to ruin the plot at the beginning, when the priest (Arliss Howard) mentions that they had to kill one of them? If they had left that part out, the story would have far more suspenseful, especially the last scene in the cabin. Remember in the movie "Seven" (Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman)? Now that ending blew me away; not a hint about how that was playing out. Otherwise this movie is a must-see. The writing was brilliant, except for the spoiler part.
This film is a really intelligent dramatic/thriller. Its story is about four high school friends who must face the consequences of their actions after they are involved in a killing and the subsequent cover up. The film is as much about the mystery of what happened as it is about revealing who the friends really are as teenagers and as adults. The characters feel really human, and instead of giving us a stock conclusion, the filmmakers leave us questioning how we would handle the same circumstances.
