**POSSIBLE MINOR SPOILERS IN PARAGRAPH 5**
I watched "Treed Murray" for the second time the other night, and found I had forgotten just how brilliant this film was (in spite of its atrocious title). I agree with the reviewer who contends that Toronto is the only setting where this storyline would work, since gang members in any American metropolis would have just whipped out a gun and settled the matter in about 5 seconds flat. Instead, "Treed Murray" serves up a mesmerizing study of human psychology, where no character is black or white and no one emerges unscathed.
The situation is straightforward. On his way to work one morning, advertising executive Murray takes a shortcut through a city park, where he's accosted by a teen named Carter who asks him for money. Murray refuses and shoves Carter down, whereupon he is chased by Carter's gang and takes refuge in a tree. The rest of the film involves Murray's attempts to talk his way out of the tree, using his skill as a master manipulator to play head games with his captors.
That's the plot in a nutshell, but this is by no means a plot-driven movie. It's more of a modern morality play, one that would easily lend itself to a stage treatment. Each character is carefully drawn and defined by their place in society: Murray, on the top rung of the social ladder, literally looks down on the "punks" from his perch on high. He judges them as they pace below him, trapped in limbo, unable to move onward due to their thirst for revenge. Yet the arrangement is not as one-sided as it looks, for the 5 youths -- under the command of Shark, their streetwise leader -- manage to hold their own against Murray's alternately glib and savage tongue. They repay his malice in numerous ways, even as he works to erode their gang loyalties and pit them against one another.
The balance and flow of the film are expertly realized, thanks to outstanding performances from a (small) cast of relative unknowns. We alternate between swells of violent hatred and quiet, tender moments where the enemies connect emotionally or unite briefly for a common cause. It's frequently hard to identify whether a character is being genuine or manipulative by what they say -- an ambiguity which serves the movie well, since it forces us to question and doubt along with the characters. I found it nothing short of riveting to witness the shifting power dynamics as the characters expose one another's prejudices, while inadvertently uncovering their shared humanity. It's raw and unsettling stuff to watch, but it carries a powerful message: like Murray and the street gang, we are all bound to one another as fallen creatures. Each one of us is flawed and vulnerable, equally capable of compassion or of ruthless depravity.
My picks for favorite scenes include: 1) Murray's sermon on how he, the marketing guru, "made" the gang's resident poser; 2) Murray's one-on-one scenes with Kelly and Carter; 3) Murray dropping his coat to cover a shivering Kelly; 4) the nail-biting climax; and 5) the chilling walk-through of Raven and his gang, proving that there are far greater evils in the world than the cat-and-mouse antics of our main characters.
Don't let the title put you off. "Treed Murray" is a movie well worth seeing and one you're unlikely to forget for a long time after.
Eight stars out of a possible 10.
I watched "Treed Murray" for the second time the other night, and found I had forgotten just how brilliant this film was (in spite of its atrocious title). I agree with the reviewer who contends that Toronto is the only setting where this storyline would work, since gang members in any American metropolis would have just whipped out a gun and settled the matter in about 5 seconds flat. Instead, "Treed Murray" serves up a mesmerizing study of human psychology, where no character is black or white and no one emerges unscathed.
The situation is straightforward. On his way to work one morning, advertising executive Murray takes a shortcut through a city park, where he's accosted by a teen named Carter who asks him for money. Murray refuses and shoves Carter down, whereupon he is chased by Carter's gang and takes refuge in a tree. The rest of the film involves Murray's attempts to talk his way out of the tree, using his skill as a master manipulator to play head games with his captors.
That's the plot in a nutshell, but this is by no means a plot-driven movie. It's more of a modern morality play, one that would easily lend itself to a stage treatment. Each character is carefully drawn and defined by their place in society: Murray, on the top rung of the social ladder, literally looks down on the "punks" from his perch on high. He judges them as they pace below him, trapped in limbo, unable to move onward due to their thirst for revenge. Yet the arrangement is not as one-sided as it looks, for the 5 youths -- under the command of Shark, their streetwise leader -- manage to hold their own against Murray's alternately glib and savage tongue. They repay his malice in numerous ways, even as he works to erode their gang loyalties and pit them against one another.
The balance and flow of the film are expertly realized, thanks to outstanding performances from a (small) cast of relative unknowns. We alternate between swells of violent hatred and quiet, tender moments where the enemies connect emotionally or unite briefly for a common cause. It's frequently hard to identify whether a character is being genuine or manipulative by what they say -- an ambiguity which serves the movie well, since it forces us to question and doubt along with the characters. I found it nothing short of riveting to witness the shifting power dynamics as the characters expose one another's prejudices, while inadvertently uncovering their shared humanity. It's raw and unsettling stuff to watch, but it carries a powerful message: like Murray and the street gang, we are all bound to one another as fallen creatures. Each one of us is flawed and vulnerable, equally capable of compassion or of ruthless depravity.
My picks for favorite scenes include: 1) Murray's sermon on how he, the marketing guru, "made" the gang's resident poser; 2) Murray's one-on-one scenes with Kelly and Carter; 3) Murray dropping his coat to cover a shivering Kelly; 4) the nail-biting climax; and 5) the chilling walk-through of Raven and his gang, proving that there are far greater evils in the world than the cat-and-mouse antics of our main characters.
Don't let the title put you off. "Treed Murray" is a movie well worth seeing and one you're unlikely to forget for a long time after.
Eight stars out of a possible 10.