The Pack (2009/I)

Director:

Alyssa Rallo Bennett

Writers:

Alyssa Rallo Bennett (writer)
Gary Bennett (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The Pack is a riveting drama where addiction, love and murder are burning issues.

Plot:

The Pack is inspired by real life stories and documented cases where secondhand smoke is believed to be the cause of a loved ones death...

Cast

Lucie Arnaz	...	Eleanor Jordan
Ryan Homchick	...	Jack Jordan Jr.
Roger Robinson	...	Jeffries
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Janine Barris	...	Laurel Hardy
Brendan Bradley	...	Zachary Hertzberg
Liam Broggy	...	Young Jack Jordan Jr.
Jackie Brown	...	Restaurant Patron
Scott Bryce	...	Jack Jordan Sr.
Peggy Cafferty	...	Reporter
Fiona Choi	...	Wang
Jim Coope	...	Murphy
Genai Corban	...	Shelia Morgan
Molly Culver	...	Farrell
Tibor Feldman	...	Dr. Hurst
Adam Ferrara	...	Cassidy
Dan Frazer	...	Sol Epstein
Suzanne Froix	...	Bradley
Zach Galligan	...	Anson
Brian Gildea	...	Courtroom Police Officer
Brooks Hornsby	...	Gifford
Peter Francis James	...	Marc Forrest
Craig Keene	...	Court Officer
Jill Knell	...	Ellen Demas
David Laundra	...	Zach
Carlos Leon	...	Adam Roen
Angie Martinez	...	Diego
Jennifer McCabe	...	Ingrahm
Jennifer Merrill	...	Angela
William Mitchell	...	Judge Oppenheimer
Charlie Moss	...	Silvati
Elisabeth Moss	...	Diana Whelan
Michael Pemberton	...	Dr. Gund
Lony'e Perrine	...	Stenographer
Angela Pietropinto	...	Dr. Elisabeth Lin
Carly Porter	...	Student
Marja Lewis Ryan	...	Court Patron
Jennigs Turner	...	Bailiff
Lila Urda	...	High School Student
Rick Washburn	...	George Petterson
Johnny Webster	...	Student
DeWanda Wise	...	Reporter

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Electric Movies

Compelling and frightening, with an important message

"The Pack," directed by Alyssa Rallo Bennett and written by Alyssa and Gary O. Bennett, is a no-holds barred, stark look at the horrors of tobacco use and nicotine addiction. Compelling and frightening, "The Pack" is inspired by true events and dares to ask questions which remain unanswered to this day. Few films deserve the label "important," and this is one of them.

At its center is a portrait of a family torn apart by cancer. Nonsmoker Jack Jordan Sr. (Scott Bryce) has died of lung cancer at the age of 47, presumably brought on by 30 years of breathing his wife Eleanor's (Lucie Arnaz) secondhand smoke. An ambitious Assistant District Attorney (Carlos Leon) brings her to trial on murder charges, and 24-year-old son Jack Jr. (Ryan Homchick) is caught in the middle. The subsequent trial, the role young Jack plays in the proceedings, and the jury deliberations revolve around the questions of who knew what and when did they know it. Unspoken are the obvious political ramifications of the answers.

Arnaz gives a tour-de-force performance as the wife and mother whose only crime was that she was blissfully ignorant (or perhaps not) of the consequences of her actions. Homchick's Jack Jr. is like a puppy constantly on edge from having been beaten by one too many newspapers. The ensemble cast which makes up the jury, veterans as well as newcomers, inhabit their characters seamlessly. To single anyone out is a difficult task. Watch for Adam Ferrara as the maniacal Cassidy, who will not let go of his pro-tobacco stance, and Zach Galligan as Anson, a wide-eyed open book who can play the fool with ease.

"The Pack" cuts back and forth between the flashbacks of the family's past, the trial, and the jury deliberations. If told in linear fashion the film would likely have plodded along at an interminably slow pace. Instead, smart editing decisions placed each jump in time at precisely the right moment, while maintaining just enough consistency to avoid confusion. A careful balance needed to be struck, and kudos to editor Jeff Turboff for pulling it off masterfully. During the deliberation room scenes, cinematographer George Lyon cleverly used slow pans around the table to create a sense of movement where there was none. Occasional jump cuts sliced out the inevitable dead spots. The result puts still life into action -- no small feat.

The look of the film ironically contrasts the carefree days of the family's past with the sad reality of the present. Flashbacks are presented through the use of old home movies, bright and colorful and reflective of the myth we all bought into that secondhand tobacco smoke was benign. Scenes which take place in the present day are filled with blues and grays and give a dull, washed-out appearance, as though the air itself is affected by the cancer which struck down Jack Jordan Sr. The courthouse sets, particularly the jury deliberation room, are as cold and stark as can be.

A bit "Silkwood," "The Insider," and "12 Angry Men" all rolled into one, "The Pack" poses the question, "what if your behavior was legally accepted for dozens of years and all of a sudden it came into question?" The answer is not likely to change many viewers' minds about the dangers of smoking but, perhaps, it will.