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Reviews
Medium (2007)
A Decent First Film
This is a very apparent low-budget film, however the directors and cast worked well with what they had. A story about two brothers, William and Jobe, who visit their medium aunt to help her move, it becomes quite suspenseful as the film progresses. The film uses classic horror techniques -- other worldly interference with technology, a door to another realm, etc. The two brothers become connected to the other "beings" in the house after their aunt has a heart attack, thus unleashing these beings into the real world and messing with William and Jobe's minds. Jobe is mute, most likely from an early childhood trauma stemming from supernatural events in his aunt's house. He also possesses the same skills as his aunt, and we see from the very beginning of the film that he senses the other beings in the house.
Overall, a decent first film from the Gaudioso Twins, and after seeing their more recent films, I can see the improvement they've made over the years. Nevertheless, Medium is a good start to their career and shows that they have always been passionate about film and storytelling!
The Ghost and the Whale (2017)
Beautiful, Riveting Story
Beginning with an Edgar Allen Poe quote and having been filmed in the same town as Hitchcock's "The Birds," it is clear that this movie is going to take you on a thrilling journey. And that it did. Seemingly innocent at first, journalist Ed Hale (played by the talented James Gaudioso) comes to town to cover a theater production story. But we quickly find out that in actuality, he has come to uncover the truth about the death of a woman, and the husband that was left behind. The wife's family, made up of miscreant personalities, believes that the husband, Joseph Hawthorne, had something to do with it. One especially so, Jack Lee, who is unsettling and terrifying, only so because of Anthony Gaudioso's striking, formidable, and incredible performance. Joseph Hawthorne is haunted by his wife Annabelle's death, as he is unsure of what happened and if he actually played a part in it. Joseph struggles with bipolar disorder (accurately and wonderfully played by Maurice Benard), going through manic episodes where he plays out that day on the boat and even imagines Annabelle, "The Ghost," in front of him at home. His conversations with "The Whale," voiced by the incomparable Jonathan Pryce, is his way of processing what happened and whether it was him who killed Annabelle, or it was the whale that led her to fall into the ocean.
Jack and the other Lee family members go on a bit of a rampage, violently assaulting the journalist Ed and even setting their cousin Mitch's barn on fire with him in it. They are firm in their belief that Joseph killed their sister and that this journalist is bringing up things they don't want to hear. As Mitch says, they don't want to hear the truth that it was an accident. They won't believe it, even if someone in their own family says so. People sometimes will go to extraordinary lengths to hide their grief, and the Lee family does just that.
This ultimately leads to a showdown of sorts between Jack, Joseph, and Ed. Jack, haven taken Joseph's new friend Sweetie, mocks him by standing with her in the ocean while he frighteningly teeters at the shoreline. Jack then pushes her aside and attacks Joseph, and begin to fight. Ed, meanwhile, is up on the dune shotgun in hand, waiting for a clear shot. When an opportunity appears, he pulls the trigger and shoots Jack dead. It is then that Joseph gets clarity -- Annabelle's death was an accident after all -- and he makes peace with the ocean, walking into it to join his friend "The Whale."
The ocean's duality, functioning in both a destructive and healing nature, is important, especially with it being a quaint seaside town, the two being connected like one lung to the other. The townspeople and the ocean coexist with each other. Writers have always used that relationship, as does Anthony Gaudioso in this beautiful, riveting story. As someone who grew up in a seaside town, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and its off-kiltered way of showing the importance of truth, the multiple facets of grief, and the way a town will hide them both.
Duke (2019)
When Good is Taken From This World
The film starts in a gritty, almost thriller-like way, with two brothers being chased by violent bullies, and then talked to by a cop who seems to enjoy meaningless violence and intimidation. Then, as the film transitions to present day, we see these two brothers, Dare and Roost, all grown up. Right away, you see the dynamic between the two of them. Dare is the protector, the one who keeps everything under his control, adamant on carrying out justice and rooting out the evil in the city. Roost, on the other hand, is sheltered, comforted by the fantasy of being the "Duke," right out of old western movies. While Roost stays at home carrying out this fantasy and listening to a radio talk show about self-confidence and self-empowerment, Dare is on a mission to find the infamous Winky, a man who has consumed his thoughts and has terrorized the city he is sworn to protect. We soon come to find that Dare is not a member of law enforcement, but is acting on his own. Meanwhile, actual law enforcement detectives are also trying to find Winky and one of them, Morrison, has his own problems with obsessing over this man, preventing him to think clearly (evident when he decides to go under cover, is made, and gets beaten up).
Throughout the film, Dare also battles with his own demons, keeping hold of the past, which prevents him from looking to the future and letting go of his drive for justice. He can rarely see the good because of the evil that has consumed his life. That changes when Cookie, a local prostitute he was using to get information, gets killed, and Duke finds out from her friend Joan. She then gives an impassioned speech and reveals a letter Cookie had written to Dare. It is after that he realizes that if you're always hanging on to the evil in your life, you will overlook the good, and miss it before it's too late. He then takes his brother Roost, dressed in police uniform and fulfilling his fantasy as "Duke," to his local diner. There, as he is ready to move forward at last, he finds himself face to face with Winky. Chaos ensues, and in that chaos, Roost unknowingly shoots Dare's friend, believing he had his brothers back like his brother always had his. This sadly causes him to go home and kill himself, believing he had failed Dare and failed himself. Dare then decides to go to a police precinct dressed as a cop and has one more duel with a mirage of recently passed Roost, not before become aware that the Lieutenant is the same cop who has antagonized his dreams and his childhood. He goes out in a blaze of glory, most likely, but we don't see that, as the screen cuts to black and only a single gun shot rings out. But the last thing we see on his face is a smile. Something that hadn't been seen the entire film.
Duke is a film about when good is taken from this world, leaving only evil to consume you, and the journey to finding that good again. Through all of life's trials and tribulations, finding the goodness within yourself and within others can make you feel at peace. Dare certainly felt at peace in that final shot.
A well-shot labor of love, The Gaudioso Twins did a great job with a story that, although jumped around a bit and wasn't the most fluid, showed the viewer the underbelly of life. You'll come out of watching this reflecting on your own life and the hope that we are all able to find some good in this world before we leave it.