Rage and an Evil Shadow: A Movie Review

*a DVD screener of this film was provided by Chris Witherspoon.

**spoiler alert.

Director/writer: Chris Witherspoon.

Cast: Audrey Walker, Rick Crawford and Chris Witherspoon.

Imagine Darth Vader as only the die-hard fans wanted him to be: a brutal killer and a force of nature. But none of that would matter if he did not have that seething rage that kept him going all through these years. Now imagine all that power hidden behind a simple black motorcycle helmet. That’s Chris Witherspoon’s movie, Rage, an effective chase thriller about two individuals, each with personal issues, at odds with one another.

This movie is all about the circumstances that lead to their confrontation. That also includes the problems in Dennis' (Rick Crawford) life. It’s an idyllic one spent with his loving wife, Crystal (Audrey Walker) in the suburbs of Portland. But when he has to go into the city to run some errands, and meet a few people, audiences learn that he is flawed. He has a mistress. He feels like he can gain part of his life back through control if he tells Dana (Anna Lodej) that the relationship is off.

But before he met the mistress, his chance encounter with a motorcyclist shows a different side of his personality. He makes a gesture of “what’s your problem?” and that’s enough to get this mysterious individual to go follow him, and learn of his transgression. He thinks that he can use this information to his advantage, but when this stranger does not speak at all, nobody, not even the audience, will know what his motives are. He is perhaps one of the better villains to appear on screen for a long time. When nobody can read him, he can be like a walking time bomb. This role, nicely characterized by Witherspoon, certainly ranks up there with the classic icons of horror. Michael Myers has a tag-team buddy.

For a good chunk of the film, the two square off in one huge cat-and-mouse game. Dennis does not know what he has done to deserve this motorcyclist's attention, and when his car gets scratched and his vehicle's oil line nicked, all he can think of is how to keep this problem to himself, instead of reaching out for help. He considers the possibility of Dana's former boyfriend as the culprit. He also tries to come up with a reason why all this bad karma is coming back on him.

But just in case audiences do not get the idea, Witherspoon helps viewers along by offering an explanation. In a scene where Dennis is getting his car fixed, he happens to overhear a conversation about Steven Spielberg’s TV classic, Duel. Two individuals talk about the greater meaning of this famous director's product; in this film, Dennis Weaver is supposed to be symbolic of man’s lonely existence and the truck is supposed to be a force of Nature.

Dennis listens in, but gets distracted by the mechanic. He may have gotten the point but did he? He's too worried about saving his own honour to realize what's going on around him. Crawford is great in this role because all of Dennis’ anxieties have to be expressed. This film is very engrossing since it delves deep into everything he does and thinks about.

But when the film shifts gears to not include Dennis, and deal only with the biker’s mad rage, the movie becomes another product. Although anything about him is never revealed, the lengths he will go towards making Dennis' life miserable is hugely disturbing. At the same time, there are some logistical problems: in a city as large as Portland, just how did he manage to stay close to Dennis throughout the day?

Anyone who knows how the city of Portland’s streets are laid out will know that it is divided into five sectors. Bridges connect each part and newcomers may feel lost at their attempts at getting around. For one individual to keep tabs on another must mean that he knows the roadways well.

Tagging any vehicle with a tracer or to key it so it can be recognized is easy. But for this mysterious biker to be constantly dogging Dennis and to appear at his home much later in the night requires a huge leap of faith that cannot be ignored. Just how did the biker know where he lived, especially when the car is in the garage?

To watch how this movie draws to a close is almost perfect. All those fears of Dennis’ have come to life when his wife finally reacts. Kudos have to go to Walker for giving an exceptional silent performance. Her pains are easily read but she's not ready to act against her husband just yet.

Instead, what the biker becomes is a living embodiment of brutality and anger. It's reflected in his actions towards the couple. All those ideas presented in Duel comes to fruition, and the actions the mysterious person behind the helmet does becomes unsettling in the sense that why must it happen?

But at the same time, a greater argument must be asked. Why must innocents be involved? When a friendly neighbour gets offed for no reason whatsoever, the darker side of humanity is certainly being gazed at. But next time anyone is driving and they feel the urge to cut into another lane with a driver in the blind spot, that’s a bad idea. Road rage, in any form, is the last thing anyone wants. Just having one hell of a bad day cannot be made any worse. All audiences get to see is just how much of a wimp Dennis truly is—especially when he can’t find the willpower to face up to his aggressor, or his wife for that matter.

*there is no release date for this film at this time.

Visit the film's homepage here:

Rage's Official Website

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