I Die Alone: Featuring perhaps the highest budget of any of Fredianelli's films, I Die Alone has at least 2 or 3 really great set pieces, some really good ideas, and a really long second act. Beginning with a larger skirmish and finally ending in an abandoned base (that somewhat resembles a Concord, CA housing project), the piece's bookends get the blood going suitably, with some really nice work on sound and some very bloody squibs. The pacing and tone get switched around a bit as we get situated in the narrative, centering around Carl Schreiber's whiny soldier archetype. We get a lot of soldier clichés as we spend the first few minutes in a set-bound bunker, with a burned-up Michael Nose in the background of the sequence. We then get a mixture of voice-over (I was rolling my eyes at it a bit in the beginning, but it pays off with accumulation if the viewer's patient enough) and dialogue sequences (the discussion of Korean prostitutes is suitably sleazy and fits the DTV feel of the set, so far so good). You get a sense that the movie's going to end up involving Nose's character and Schreiber either dueling with each other or having some kind of extended conflict, but it's going to be another half-hour until we finally get settled into the movie's primary rhythm, which involves Schreiber wandering around, falling into traps, and dealing with a homicidal mail carrier (actor Marc Litman seemed difficult enough to work with in the included "Blooper" reel, but otherwise has a fine screen presence and charisma). Early on, the mixture of grit and cliché (a shot of a woman back home getting the son's KIA letter in particular seemed familiar from, well, every war movie?) worked out an interesting mix between the classical films being made during the film's setting and the trajectories we've come to expect from films like Saving Private Ryan or Eastwood's WWII combo. All in all, where we end up for most of the movie is in a rough mishmash of varying tones, the narrative's plotting not nearly as dense (or random) as something like The Dry Blade but too dry and without tonality, for the most part (there are some really nice shots of the guys walking through what look like wheat fields). What that creates is a really difficult plodding middle hour or so, where we get occasional blasts of action amidst tedium and character ticks. One wonders if the lack of mood in these moments comes as a result of the actors or the writing (given my lack of affection for Schreiber's screen presence, I'd guess the former, although he manages some really nice moments in the 3rd act). We finally get going again in the base-bound final act, and the film regains a sense of urgency, rushing headlong through a well-executed shootout and into a mystical plot twist that really paid off some of the earlier work done with the voice-over. One gets the feeling that with more rounding out of that second act around the tone or mood that the ending suggests that we might have had something quite special on our hands, but so much of the middle of the movie seems to be checking off plot points that the entire project's merits are undersold a bit in execution. Ultimately, interesting failures can be more gratifying than complete successes, and if you're willing to endure its lesser elements, I Die Alone has a helluva lot to like.
3 Reviews
War on a Budget
Pycal22 March 2013
Filmed in California (where I assume most 1950s made US Korean War movies were filmed anyway) I DIE ALONE does a convincing enough job of transporting the viewer to the battlefields of 1950s Korea. The set-design and costumes in the film are quite good and (with the possible exception of a debris ridden Korean village (?)) it all looks pretty feasible for the period and convincing for what they're supposed to represent (especially the two war bunkers which were shot at the same location, but redressed for the American and North Korean sides respectively). Props are for the most part period correct as well (the only anachronistic weapon likely being a Colt Python revolver used for a game of Russian Roulette (kind of a nice touch given that I heard the instances of the game in THE DEER HUNTER were actually inspired by the Korean War instead)), but it's a little weird to see most of the North Korean soldiers using American weapons (captured or not). Michael Nosé actually uses an appropriate bolt-action rifle (looking like one of the Russian or Chinese models the North Koreans would more likely be using), but it's really only seen in the opening battle scene for some reason. These implausibilities really don't detract from the film though and the most clearly seen budgetary limitation relates (not surprisingly) to the absence (aside from being heard off screen in what is some pretty good sound design) of vehicles like tanks, Army jeeps, and aircraft (though I hear a real Soviet T-34 tank was going to be used originally but had trouble operating). Needless to say, the battle scenes in the movie are quite intense and well staged with some of the best squib effects in a Wild Dogs Production (there's just as much smoke as there is blood splatter). Probably the most unconvincing thing is that despite the massive amounts of rounds being discharged throughout, we just about never see a gun being re-loaded or run out of ammo.
I DIE ALONE is a good looking, well shot film and there are plenty of nice touches that actually give it a very 1950s vibe (stock footage, filters, period music, etc.). One flashback sequence with the lead character and his girlfriend looked jarringly modern, but it's such a minor part of the movie it's easy to overlook. The stock music and audio is pretty nicely utilized, though I'm kind of scratching my head and wondering if the North Korean soldiers would really be listening to what sounds like WWII era Japanese music. The original music by Aaron Stielstra is excellent and sets the tone quite perfectly. Stielstra's score in the film has a very nice Jerry Goldsmith/Jerry Fielding sound to it which fits a war movie like this great.
The biggest flaw of I DIE ALONE is in the many weak acting performances that are on display for so much of the film. I don't necessarily think the movie has pacing issues or anything, but a lot of the poorly delivered dialog seems to make a lot of the movie somewhat hard to bare and go by more sluggishly. This is really a shame actually, because the worst performances are by far from the two lead actors. Carl Schreiber as main character Pvt. Finch gives off charisma and performs adequate at times, but so much of his dialog is delivered with either the wrong (or lack of) emotion. Marc Litman who plays the main supporting character (a mailman named Perry) fairs even worse and is almost completely wooden in his performance or is giving off the wrong inflection with his lines. Even if the character is supposed to be not all there mentally, Litman's performance really isn't very believable. Added to that, it's all the more of a shame since some of the minor character roles are performed quite well. Jeremy Koerner is great as the hard-ass and increasingly fed-up Lieutenant Burton (even if he plays up the fact that he's a cold bastard a bit too much). Peter Stylianos turns in a good, convincing performance as Colonel Wiseman, but his screen time isn't much more (if at all) than Koerner's. The North Korean antagonists are all pretty one-dimensional and don't have much to work with, but such a portrayal works thematically as the general mentality conveyed by the American characters is that they're sneaky little "slanty-eyed gook" and should be treated as less than human anyway.
With all that said, the movie does its job well the majority of the time and is pretty watchable. It certainly entertains and affects the viewer even if it doesn't have all that much new to say on the whole. The twist ending was kind of a let-down for me however open-ended it is. Without spoiling too much I'll say it's the kind of twist that can be really un-satisfying (the phrases "Deus ex Machina" and "cop out" come to mind, but are maybe not the most accurate or appropriate to use here).
All in all, I DIE ALONE is a good watch and a great achievement for director Michael Fredianelli in delivering so much scope and ambition. Worth a viewing, but even if I hate to say it again (like I have for seemingly all of Fredianelli's films since), THE SCARLET WORM this movie ain't.
I DIE ALONE is a good looking, well shot film and there are plenty of nice touches that actually give it a very 1950s vibe (stock footage, filters, period music, etc.). One flashback sequence with the lead character and his girlfriend looked jarringly modern, but it's such a minor part of the movie it's easy to overlook. The stock music and audio is pretty nicely utilized, though I'm kind of scratching my head and wondering if the North Korean soldiers would really be listening to what sounds like WWII era Japanese music. The original music by Aaron Stielstra is excellent and sets the tone quite perfectly. Stielstra's score in the film has a very nice Jerry Goldsmith/Jerry Fielding sound to it which fits a war movie like this great.
The biggest flaw of I DIE ALONE is in the many weak acting performances that are on display for so much of the film. I don't necessarily think the movie has pacing issues or anything, but a lot of the poorly delivered dialog seems to make a lot of the movie somewhat hard to bare and go by more sluggishly. This is really a shame actually, because the worst performances are by far from the two lead actors. Carl Schreiber as main character Pvt. Finch gives off charisma and performs adequate at times, but so much of his dialog is delivered with either the wrong (or lack of) emotion. Marc Litman who plays the main supporting character (a mailman named Perry) fairs even worse and is almost completely wooden in his performance or is giving off the wrong inflection with his lines. Even if the character is supposed to be not all there mentally, Litman's performance really isn't very believable. Added to that, it's all the more of a shame since some of the minor character roles are performed quite well. Jeremy Koerner is great as the hard-ass and increasingly fed-up Lieutenant Burton (even if he plays up the fact that he's a cold bastard a bit too much). Peter Stylianos turns in a good, convincing performance as Colonel Wiseman, but his screen time isn't much more (if at all) than Koerner's. The North Korean antagonists are all pretty one-dimensional and don't have much to work with, but such a portrayal works thematically as the general mentality conveyed by the American characters is that they're sneaky little "slanty-eyed gook" and should be treated as less than human anyway.
With all that said, the movie does its job well the majority of the time and is pretty watchable. It certainly entertains and affects the viewer even if it doesn't have all that much new to say on the whole. The twist ending was kind of a let-down for me however open-ended it is. Without spoiling too much I'll say it's the kind of twist that can be really un-satisfying (the phrases "Deus ex Machina" and "cop out" come to mind, but are maybe not the most accurate or appropriate to use here).
All in all, I DIE ALONE is a good watch and a great achievement for director Michael Fredianelli in delivering so much scope and ambition. Worth a viewing, but even if I hate to say it again (like I have for seemingly all of Fredianelli's films since), THE SCARLET WORM this movie ain't.
A twist in the plot but the movie is missable.
maciekmszymanski21 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Who is the guy running up and down behind the American team? He does not say anything, nobody talks to him, he seems to be only running up and down the line without any cause or impact...
Also, difficult to figure out how the Koreans looking down the hill are simply taking potshots at soldiers lower down the hill, behind boulders and still able to him them? Magic bullets perhaps.
The Korean sharp shooter was magnificent, every bullet hit his target. Just not sure why his crisp clean beige shirt turn all of a sudden brown like it was soaked in a bath tub. Another mystery for us to figure out for ourselves. But then he wipes everybody out. What a guy.
Also, difficult to figure out how the Koreans looking down the hill are simply taking potshots at soldiers lower down the hill, behind boulders and still able to him them? Magic bullets perhaps.
The Korean sharp shooter was magnificent, every bullet hit his target. Just not sure why his crisp clean beige shirt turn all of a sudden brown like it was soaked in a bath tub. Another mystery for us to figure out for ourselves. But then he wipes everybody out. What a guy.
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