Alpha Male (2006/I)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Dan Wilde

Writer:

Dan Wilde (written by)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Alpha Male is the story of family life. It is a film about the force of personality, family politics, repressed emotions, great love and devastating loss.

Plot Keywords:

Party | Fall | Dog | Brother Brother Relationship | Boxer Shorts

Cast

Danny Huston	...	Jim Ferris
Patrick Baladi	...	Clive Lamis
Mark Wells	...	Jack Ferris
Christopher Egan	...	Felix Methusulah (as Chris Egan)
Ewan Stewart	...	Hilary Benz
Arthur Duncan	...	Young Jack
Ellis Hollins	...	Nathan
Mark Heap	...	Darwin
Eugene Simon	...	Young Felix
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jennifer Ehle	...	Alice Ferris
Stirling Gallacher	...	Dr. Bullmore
Katie Ann Knight	...	Elyssa Ferris (8-10 yrs) (as Katie Knight)
Jemma Powell	...	Maliika
Trudie Styler	...	Brede Norton
Amelia Warner	...	Elyssa Ferris

MPAA:

Rated R for some language.

Runtime:

Argentina:100 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:R | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG

Company:

Mobius International

A Dysfunctional Family Is Examined

An upper middle class English dysfunctional family is examined while the time switches back and forth from the past to the present.

In the present, Alice is seen begging her son, Jack Ferris, to attend his twenty-first birthday party that she and her husband, Jack's stepfather, are giving. It is clear that Jack dislikes his stepfather and has long been estranged from his mother.

Jack's sister, Elyssa Ferris, still lives at home and seems to maintain a respectful, yet distant relationship with both her mother and stepfather.

Time returns to when Jack and Elyssa were pre-adolescents, and we see the relationship between the children's father - now dead. Jim Ferris is definitely an alpha male being a success in business and expecting exemplary achievements and behavior from his children.

It is clear from their actions that, even though they love their father, and he loves them, that these two children have serious emotional and adjustment problems. A weakness in the storyline of the film is exposed here as Jim Ferris doesn't appear nearly as domineering and controlling enough to foster the abhorrent actions of his children - especially those of Elyssa. Most of this horrible behavior exposes itself after Jim's death.

This film is well acted by all of the players and beautifully produced, but the extreme actions of the two children - both and youths and adults - are not fully justified based upon the events witnessed by the viewer. Never-the-less, it is an interesting and entertaining film.