(Canada, 78 min.)
Written and directed by Martin Forcier
Starring: Jon
McLaren, Matthew Stefiuk, Barry Blake, Guy Buller
Ottawa looks to be a budding hub for crime drama! After last
year’s OIFF topper A Violent State comes
its neighbour Undercurrent. Like A Violent State, Undercurrent is a violent, steely tale of street justice within the
local (fictional) underworld. Undercurrent
is a stylish, gritty crime drama.
The next job, however, is a quick in-and-out hit on an
important figure from the syndicate (Guy Buller) who was arrested on kiddie
porn charges. This hit, an account living under house arrest, barely receives a
flicker of remorse from Ray’s stoic face. In his role of executioner, Ray also
plays judge and jury: some people, he believes, deserve to die and, for that reason,
some jobs are easier than others are.
As Ray narrates throughout the film, killing is a dangerous
endeavour on a man’s soul. He recalls the memory of his first kill – “You never
forget your first,” he says – and it returns to him after each new job. The
memory is not like a recurrent nightmare or a tormenting affliction. It’s more
like a qualitative element against which Ray can justify his kills.
Despite his experience and obvious skill, Ray never shakes
his need to reflect upon his actions. One musing likens the homicides to a violent
tide or a cold current of water pushing down on his chest. Even though Ray’s
job violates numerous legal, ethical, and moral codes, he still finds ways to
rationalize the necessity of his work.
Forcier exemplifies Ray’s moral character in the sequence
detailing his second Ottawa-based hit. The job is supposed to be a cinch, but
it goes down badly. The mark is in the process of taking his own life when Ray
stealthily walks up behind him in his apartment. One would think that Ray’s job
is done for him. It’s all too easy, however, until Ray finds that the
accountant made one last move before being brought to trial.
The new turn of events leads Ray down a road of vigilante
justice. Surprisingly enough, though, the mob boss does not meet his actions
with reprimand, but instead with a raised glass of single malt scotch. A
strange moral ambiguity resides in the characters of Undercurrent. The fresh dimensions of these mobsters allow the film
to do something new with the genre and they often play off the philosophical
voiceover and epigraphs that appear throughout. Ray commits crimes on Ottawa
residents, to be sure, but in some cases, it seems that his only violation is
against written law.
Undercurrent generally
steers free of clichés (capisce?) and makes a welcome companion to last
year’s A Violent State. Undercurrent, if a bit heavy at times,
arguably boasts some of the most impressive technical work and production value
in recent films made by the local scene. It also scores well with leading man Jon
McLaren, who waits until the last moment of the film to give the audience any
outward expression of Ray’s mental and emotional strain. Undercurrent is a dark, brooding crime drama that should play well
with genre fans outside of Ottawa’s film community.
Rating: ★★★½ (out of ★★★★★)
