Shadows on the Wall

Supercell

dir Herbert James Winterstern
scr Anna Elizabeth James, Herbert James Winterstern
prd Ryan Donnell Smith, Ryan Winterstern, Nathan Klingher
with Daniel Diemer, Skeet Ulrich, Alec Baldwin, Anne Heche, Jordan Kristine Seamon, Anjul Nigam, Michael Klingher, Jane Lind, Richard Gunn, Jack Eyman, Johnny Wactor, Cheyenne Adamson
release US 17.Mar.23
23/US 1h41

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Taking a superficially Spielberg-style approach for this dramatic adventure, filmmaker Herbert James Winterstern indulges in absurdly declarative dialog, a relentlessly surging score by Corey Wallace and warmly glowing cinematography by Andrew Jeric. But the epic melodramatic tone leaves the movie without nuance, which means that there's virtually no sense of realism in either the emotions or action. So while it's familiar and watchable, it's also contrived and sentimental.

In rural Florida, 16-year-old Will (Diemer) is determined to follow in the footsteps of his storm-chasing father (Gunn), who died on the job 10 years ago. His ex-meteorologist mother Quinn (Heche) is understandably unhappy about this. So Will steals his mother's storm-warning device and runs away to West Texas to find his father's former colleague Roy (Ulrich), who now works for the grizzled Zane (Baldwin) taking tourists out to chase tornadoes. But of course, even with their assurances that watching these huge weather events is safe, the wind and hail are unpredictable and menacing.

In early scenes, Will sparks a romance with longtime friend Harper (Seamon), who also lost a parent as a child. She gets a chance to bond with Quinn when they hit the road to find Will. But aggressive filmmaking overstates everything, flattening any possible storytelling textures. This means that there's little for the viewer to discover along the way. It's compelling only because familiar cinematic touches tell us exactly how we should feel. And the soaring sequences get our pulses racing as a Pavlovian response to better moviemakers.

Literally towering above everyone, Diemer seems about 10 years too old to play this role (indeed he is), but he has a strong presence on-screen, so he remains engaging even as Will makes a series of bullheaded decisions. He's a strong character, thoughtful and decisive, but is undermined by the bombastic script. The late Heche has superb jagged edges as the wounded Quinn, while Baldwin effortlessly chomps on the scenery as the arrogant Zane, although his impulsive actions are nonsensical.

While the wind machine and green screen work looks decent, not much about this film feels authentic, starting with the idea that storm-chasers would even consider using a two-wheel-drive vehicle (there two incidents where this is a key factor). The writing and direction continually simplify narrative elements, making big pronouncements and using cheap techniques to build suspense that never quite takes hold, even as Will heads toward a mythical supercell mega-tornado. So the movie is ambitious but ultimately corny.

themes, language, violence 17.Mar.23

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