Black Cat Whiskey (2013) User Reviews

Almost, But Still Not Quite There Yet

[Pycal · 7/10 · 11 May 2013]

One day (hopefully sooner than later) I'll be able to review a Wild Dogs movie without having to compare it to THE SCARLET WORM. Until then I'm going to have to say that at least Fredianelli's latest effort BLACK CAT WHISKEY seems to out-do all of the company's stuff post WORM.

BLACK CAT WHISKEY is a 1930s Georgia set (yet filmed in Northern California surprisingly pretty convincingly) depression era gangster film. It's really quite impressive in that regard as the sets, props, vehicles and locations included in the production all look great. Even after doing several period films I'm inclined to think that Fredianelli did this time period/setting the most justice oddly enough (I think the only thing the anachronism-spotting history geek in me caught were the questionable ribbed glassware that looks like the stuff found in my kitchen today). It's definitely not an overstatement to say this film is easily among the two or three best looking in the Wild Dogs catalog by far.

The selection of the cast and performances of the film's actors also achieve good marks. This is definitely a notable film in the Wild Dogs filmography considering it features (next to maybe only APOCRYPHA) the only time a female protagonist has headlined one of their features. Vanessa Leigh (who previously had a small role in Fredianelli's MONEY FOR ANGELS) portrays the main character Katie and does a fine job. She portrays a strong woman, but realistically so. No punches are pulled on portraying how a woman (especially a lower class one in the south) would have likely been treated at that time, but she's a real person and while capable and strong, never goes full Superwoman when she goes to seek revenge on the villains of the picture who try to break her.

The supporting cast in the film is also quite memorable. Jeremy Koerner is given a much meatier role than what he had to work with in I DIE ALONE and does great in a turn as a twisted (almost Spaghetti Western like) gangster villain named Richard Hayden. Then there's James Allen Brewer (giving off a really Richard Crenna like vibe) seems right at home in Depression era crime mode. Gift Harris is memorable as is the ever reliable Ray Medved in some of the few sympathetic roles, while (newcomer to film?) George S. Gemette is downright frightening as a really unsavory character.

As far as the film goes, it's pretty entertaining and watchable if focusing on some not at all light subject matter. There's some really good set-pieces and some great shots throughout that will definitely stay with the viewer. Plenty of brutal violence is featured, but the final shootout is unfortunately kind of underwhelming on repeated viewings. There's also sadly a real apparent lack of practical effects on display with CGI crimson spray used most often instead of squibs and plenty of digitally added muzzle flash, bullet impacts, and a really shoddy looking computer-rendered fire that blazes.

Unfortunately, the film also has it's share of other problems and it proves to be another Wild Dogs film that still isn't quite there yet. I have a hard time pinpointing what it is specifically, but there's just something off about them. A lot of the time, I just feel like Fredianelli's movies ask a lot of the audience when they don't have to. There should be more in the movie that gets shown instead of alluded to and done in a more exciting manner that really engages the audience. Even if this is sort of a vague criticism at best, I know it's there given the SCARLET WORM was one (if not the only) not to suffer from it. It just felt like well-- more of a real movie to me. With all that said, BLACK CAT WHISKEY still comes recommended and is (at least for this viewer) superior to Hollywood's period gangster offerings as of late (PUBLIC ENEMIES, LAWLESS, and of course the stinker that is GANGSTER SQUAD) even if this indie probably cost about as much as it did to feed the cast and crew on those films. Great southern folk music score.

Strong material, Great acting

[twolanebl · 7/10 · 14 May 2013]

Black Cat Whiskey: Like its immediate predecessor, Black Cat Whiskey is bookended by very captivating and well-conceived material that's connected by a long second act mostly comprised of plot-work and lots of medium close-ups. Here though, the delineation between what works and what is less inspiring becomes more clear with director Fredianelli's cinematography, for as is immediately apparent in the film's opening, the style has been pushed in the forefront. Opening with a deep-black interrogation room, the subtle lighting, shadows (these highlighted by the Bluray format, which really shines in rendering these aspects of the cinematography), and sullen performance by the actors all give the movie an incredibly strong sense of mood that carries over into the flashbacks comprising the majority of the film. We then get a more restrained style characteristic of the film as we get settled in the relationship between the battered woman from the opening and her husband. The period settings really shine in these moments, from the two piece telephone to the old car. The film quickly takes a left turn from this developing plot line (promising as it is), and we then get another very strong tonal segment where we see Katie, ably performed throughout by Vanessa Leigh, milling about her home and trying to find a new rhythm. While perhaps not quite as popping as the opening, this sequence bespeaks a real maturity in terms of the editing, individual shots, and performance. These images are perhaps the most beautiful Fredinelli's shot, and at this point, I was wrapped up in the film's pacing, tone, and mood. Unfortunately, despite the best cast ever put together for a Wild Dogs feature, we then get into a rhythm of dialogue scenes (mostly shot, as said above, in a mixture of medium and extreme close-ups) punctuated by the occasional gunfight. As good as the actors are, this mixture finds itself limited in that as good as the gunfights are (the muzzle flashes, in particular, have come a long way, being punctuated by plenty of Verhoeven-sized blood splurts), the piece fails to grab onto any sense of rising tension, characters are seemingly nonplussed by the increasing amounts of mayhem, and even really interesting character tics (like Hayden's predilection for posteriors or Sheridan's growing affection for Katie) end up as just more elements of the plot. By the time we get to an unexpected interracial relationship between Katie and a worker, the film proceeds in a rather calm, if not torpid, pace and mood, that is, until the relationship breaks down in a shocking sequence which is easily the best- conceived idea of the film. The work done in the narrative at this point really builds to a satisfying conclusion, the dialogue throughout about Katie's being hit reaching a sad, melancholic conclusion. The build-up is a bit out of left field, but the ensuing sequence again captures that sad, jaded mood so effectively built up in the previous sequence. This mood largely carries through the conclusion of the film, offset but not derailed by some truly horrendous CG flames that completely deflate the power of the moment they are used for (the reverse shot of the characters watching the fire, by contrast, works just fine on its own). Ultimately, like I Die Alone, the ideas here are really good, but get bogged down by the film's dogged allegiance to keeping the narrative together, often to purposes not representative of the film's strongest ideas, character ticks, and most dramatic sequences. Like I Die Alone, it's often hard to get a sense of where the film's going but an equal sense of scenes often screaming "this development will be returned to." I think it's a mixture of moments of uninspired scripting but also in the mise-en-scene, with long stretches of the film dedicated to dialogue directed with much less flair than material the director more obviously cares about.