The Numbers Station is Only Partially Developed: A Movie Review

*full disclosure: a Blu-ray screener of this film was provided by Image Entertainment.

Director: Kasper Barfoed.

Writer: F. Scott Frazier.

Cast: John Cusack, Malin Akerman and Liam Cunningham.

The Numbers Station

is the latest film to receive a limited theatrical before moving to home video formats. This title was released in June of 2013 (DVD, Blu-Ray). And, the film stars John Cusack and Malin Akerman. Essentially, The Numbers Station is an indie thriller, from first time screenwriter F. Scott Frazier. The film is light on characters and the use of diverse sets. This title also offers character development in sparing portions. Yet, The Numbers Station still manages to be a solid thriller, despite a few drawbacks.

The story for the film stays with Emerson (Cusack) and Katherine (Akerman). Both characters are CIA agents and they are assigned to a remote outpost in Suffolk, England. Here, they cloak orders for other CIA agents with ciphers. Someone comes knocking on their bunker, after a brief delay. Then, The Numbers Station turns into a solid thriller with Emerson and Katherine working together to fight off some non-descript thugs.

The budget for this film was likely only a couple million and this title would definitely be considered an indie thriller in budget and scope. The film is limited to only a couple of characters: Emerson and Katherine. The antagonists are limited to a few flashbacks and a mildly boiling climax and denouement. Also, the film is forced to focus on one primary set, an old World War II or Cold War era underground bunker. The bunker is large, but certain sets are reused repetitively. There is only so much one can see in this one locale. The ending is a little jarring as the film wraps up quickly and with only partial resolution to the film's story. The closure comes a little too soon, which could also be a result of budgeting issues, as well.

The script from Frazier must have undergone some cuts to keep certain writing elements light. The character Katherine is given little backstory, outside of Emerson's psych' evaluation of her. Though, Emerson is fleshed out on a couple of levels. Emerson's character is shown as a morally confused CIA assassin, who has seen a few too many murders on assignment. He hits the bottle to ease the pain, but what of Katherine's other dimensions? She offers little to the story, outside of a sounding board and focal point for Emerson. A little more character development was needed for this neglected character. More dimensions for Katherinte would have kepth the story and the relationship between Emerson and Katherine a little more interesting. A whole other set of characters is equally uninspiring. The villains enter scenes when action is needed, but their motivations are kept out of the writing. Only in a late scene, a blackhat offers some ambiguity of greed and getting lost in the corporation (CIA hierarchy). This character is meant as an antithesis to Emerson, but this message is underdeveloped earlier in the writing. One scene does not make for a solid opposing force for the protagonist. Some of the writing elements were not allowed to develop on a greater scale, either because of Frazier's script or because of the, already mentioned, budgetary constraints.

Still, this film critic felt that The Numbers Station was an enjoyable thriller, overall. The interactions between the characters Emerson and Katherine are often well done. And, much of the film unravels much like a murder mystery. There is a problem to be solved here and viewers might be drawn into the many secrets of the film. There is also a good deal of tension here. The motivations and reasonings behind the villains attack on the bunker kept this viewer wondering: why are they doing this? The answer to this question is a little lackluster (money); however, several questions and a good deal of interest was stirred up in this watcher. Finally, there are several scenes of violence in the film and some of these scenes come unexpectedly, or with a flourish of action. These film elements help to keep the film moving forward, at an exciting level and there are few slow moments, in this viewer's opinion, in the film.

The Numbers Station is an indie thriller for fans of the genre. Viewers can expect light entertainment from this outing and the characterizations are not given the attention they deserve. Though, this film stills finds some chemistry between the main two leads, while the ne'er-do-wells never really find their spot to shine or add real darkness to the film. Overall, the film is a solid thriller, with a short ending the only major wobble in the script.

Overall: 6.25 out of 10 (what did the protagonist learn from all of his challenges?).

A trailer for the film can be found here:

The Numbers Station at Image Entertainment


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