History : Melvin (Stephen Dorff), un missed alcolo and drug addict loses custody of her son. Using until here his super powers for the fun of it, he will do everything to regain the esteem of his ex-wife, and, in fine, hope to regain the right to visit his child.
The 9th film of the british director Nick Love, but the first film distributed in france (to my knowledge), AMERICAN HERO displays the color from his post. Here zero deception on the merchandise, although the film may delight or disappoint depending on expectations of each individual. The film sets the scene in a New Orleans populated by junkies, the unemployed, the alcolos, gangstas… in short, the margin became the centre. And our dear Melvin, all with super powers, is no exception to the rule. It is even worse than those that surround it by certain aspects. AMERICAN HERO is nothing like a movie “social”, since never, the director will not attempt to give an explanation for this misery endemic. Rather, we should see the fascination towards the figure of the white trash, an individual placed in the “racial hierarchy” of the USA below of the black man. This figure is used as a scarecrow to the class WASP (the quarantenaire white, rich and protestant) reminding him of how far he can fall if he does not, as it should be, the american dream.
I already had vocally criticised the documentary “The Other Side , grabbing hold of the monster social that is the white trash, was finally taking the form of a fiction without warning. The ethical problems raised by such a process are numerous : among others, we do believe it is a harsh reality so that everything is mounted from A to Z for the camera placed in a location where “impossible” for an observational documentary. I was therefore particularly interested to see the opposite, namely, a fake documentary which claimed to be clearly a fiction. Without belonging to the sub-genre of “mockumentary” (in which one mocks the documentary by reproducing its codes), AMERICAN HERO flirts with the found footage. We are introduced to the film as a portrait of the protagonist (Melvin), with reflection of the shooting team in the first plans. However, once things get dangerous with shots and cars that split the air, neither the cameraman nor the pole-man does not seem to move beyond measure. None of the technicians of the film crew cannot flee or shelter in front of the danger.
In the same kind of found footage, the intelligence of the Chronicle was to make the camera move by telekinesis. The hero, therefore, had absolutely no need of technical team to cover their actions. You could see in this film an evolution of the smart staging based on who is in command distance of the camera. In AMERICAN HERO ever Melvin takes control of the camera so that it is endowed with the same powers of telekinesis. Including in situations touchy where he could propose to the team for the filming of stay away, and to bring with him the camera. It will also be noted that it does address that too rarely at the camera. The few breakages of the 4th wall are more reminiscent of the jokes of Deadpool as a reflection on our relation to images.
“The main attraction is the actor Stephen Dorff, while histrionics and delusions ethyl”
At the same time that I am writing these lines, I am very conscious of asking probably too much to this film. If you are looking for entertainment that aligns the punch-lines and a few visual gags, you’ll spend a very good time. Except that in the film pop’ there is a sub-layer meta that is not explored, left in a latent state. And that’s a shame. By placing his heroes destroy in a New Orleans post-Katrina, there was material to draw up in a hollow a criticism of the management of the previous president of the United States, George W. Bush, or to hurt the balance sheet of Obama and the hopes he has raised. Except that the purpose of the film is content to follow the highs and emotional lows of Melvin, without ever questioning the context in which it evolves. The misery of AMERICAN HERO is therefore a simple decor.
Level evolution of the main character, it was still entitled to something more substantial in Hancock that empêtrait in his stories for the morons of the fallen angels. Here we encounter a super-hero, fully human, and one says : finally ! Because the main asset of the film by Nick Love it is to provide an antidote to the heroes, too smooth in a suit lycra-synthesis by a well-tempered character of his main character. So far, Melvin did ask ever its ascending trajectory of the avenger, despite an “incident” that puts severe in the mess his best friend. At any moment you feel the film ready to take off to real social problems (the port weapon, addiction, education, poverty, etc) but Nick Love prevents it at the last moment, for fear perhaps of losing its commercial side.
The main attraction is the actor Stephen Dorff, while histrionics and delusions ethyl. It is perfectly appropriate to the role and his obsession to regain the right to visit his child makes it very endearing. More than an exceptional being, we will keep this faux-documentary feel to have worked with a great guy with whom one would like to drink a pint of beer, a guy in gold who deserves to see his kid in spite of the shit in which it is embedded. Without being the fresco social or blockbuster intimate that it would have been a dream, AMERICAN HERO is a film that is simple and generous, to the image of his main character.
Thomas Coispel
• Achievement : Nick Love
• Screenplay : Nick Love
• Main actors : Stephen Dorff, Eddie Griffin, Bill Trillion
• Country of origin : USA
• Output : 08/06/2016
• Duration : 1h26mn
• Distributor : Chrysalis Films
• Synopsis : A missed alcolo and drug addict loses custody of her son. Using until here his super powers for the fun of it, he will do everything to regain the esteem of his ex-wife, and, in fine, hope to regain the right to visit his child.