Alpha Male (I) (2006)

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.

Director:

Dan Wilde

Writer:

Dan Wilde

Stars:

Jennifer Ehle, Patrick Baladi, Amelia Warner

Cast

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

Storyline

Father Ferris' successful packaging business earns his family a luxurious life on a splendid country estate. However, an incurable disease daily diminishes him, then kills him. In complex scenes from several points in time, we observe his three kids forced to grow up fatherless, Jack explicitly being appointed to step into his father's shoes. When his mother decides to marry Clive Lamis, Jack resents and resists, but is too young, so finally moves out and proves himself a business talent worthy of his father. At Jack's 21st birthday, his mother finally gets him to attend a grand garden party in his honor, before he leaves for China indefinitely. Yet things work out surprisingly, as family ties entangle them still.

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Plot Keywords:

party | fall | dog | brother brother relationship | boxer shorts | 

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Taglines:

When family is all we have.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 March 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kyriarho arseniko

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mobius International, Xingu Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

I wish I could see the director's version

I went to see this film because I'd heard about it from a friend of mine who worked on the production. Apparently the producers completely re-cut the film to make it more 'commercial' and as a result the director walked away during post-production and asked to have his name removed.

Apparently the director's cut is a totally different film, and I'd be very interested to see it because there are moments in this version that are kind of impressive. The film has an underlying intelligence and you get a sense that the director was trying to achieve something ambitious and different. The writing is confident and subtle and the film has a bold narrative structure. On the downside, some of the editing is quite sloppy and the whole film is marred by a terrible score.

Taking the film at face value, I'd have to say that it was boring at times but also intermittently intriguing. Some of the chronology didn't cohere as you felt it should and yet some of the narrative juxtapositions were beguiling. My balanced assessment is that the film reaches for a unique, dreamlike atmosphere and sometimes it succeeds.