"On the surface, Carrie (Sara Fletcher) is a small-town girl looking to break into acting, but underneath her fresh-faced appearance is a girl on a mission. After learning that a journalist is about to go public with an old sex tape made by her cousin Stefy (Kelly Noonan) - a moderately successful pinup girl - Carrie makes a deal to provide the journalist with an even bigger story.
Jordan Rivers (Leah McKendrick) is a teen starlet and Internet sensation, there’s also a chance she might be a fraud. Carrie must venture into Hollywood’s seedy underbelly to expose Jordan, but in doing so, and by delving deeper into the lies, deception and betrayal, she makes herself a prime candidate for ‘the latest Hollywood murder victim’. Which I’m guessing isn’t the kind of name she wants to make for herself.
Bears Fonte directs this low budget thriller, where digital deception is drawn from chat rooms, fan forums and online video blogs, providing a modern spin on the sparkling façade of Hollywood show business. Unfortunately, that’s about as unpredictable as iCrime gets, with token characters playing their part in a routine thriller which fails to break from the shackles of monotony.
Sara Fletcher does well enough with her leading role - making for an attractive lead that deserves much better - but the rest of the cast has a lot of catching up to do. With performances that rise and fall like a rebellious coaster ride, iCrime shares most in common with daytime TV thrillers. Bears Fonte attempts too much with the limited resources at his disposal, and iCrime comes on like an uneven mess as a result. There are a number of moments that satisfy, particularly in the final act, but this could just as easily be a result of lowered expectations making the most of the director’s tired execution.
Had Fonte attempted to go deeper - focusing more on the sex, lies and murder that his screenplay hints at - iCrime could’ve made for a gritty and worthwhile rendezvous. Unfortunately, there’s very little bang for your buck. For a movie that focuses on death, desire and deceit, there’s very little evidence of the darker side of life - it’s all too bright and daytime-y. iCrime comes with no sex, a sprinkling of blood, an absence of nudity and zero tension to chew on. I’m not saying a movie needs to resort to nakedness in order to spark my attention, but when you’re making a film about sex tapes, fraud, blackmail and murder, you don’t expect daytime TV trimmings to arrive with your main order of sleaze.
Fonte’s ambition shouldn’t be faulted, but for all its promise of degradation and darkness, iCrime fails to capitalise on a promising premise. Fonte may have a future beyond this, but there’s very little chance of anyone remembering his pedestrian debut in years to come."
AW
AW
No comments:
Post a Comment