Are You With Us?: Frailty
By Shalimar Sahota
October 22, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Starring – Bill Paxton (Mr. Meiks), Matthew McConaughey (Fenton/Adam Meiks), Powers Boothe (Agent Wesley Doyle), Luke Askew (Sheriff Smalls), Jeremy Sumpter (Young Adam Meiks), Matt O'Leary (Young Fenton Meiks)
Length – 96 minutes
Cert – 15 / R
"Demons are taking over the world," Adam tells his brother. That's right! They're not just living amongst us trying to earn a living, they're bound for world domination! So it's time to forget law and order, and forget the justice system, because demon killers are in town.
Late one night, Fenton Meiks (McConaughey) walks into an FBI office demanding to speak to Agent Doyle (Boothe), the one in charge of the "God's Hand" serial killer investigation. He tells him that he knows who the killer is, so Doyle decides to hear him out. Fenton explains how it all began years ago when he used to live with his father (Paxton) and younger brother Adam (Sumpter). His father received a vision from God telling him to destroy the demons living on Earth disguised as humans.
Frailty is the kind of film that could probably get away as an Outer Limits episode, but is extended to just the right length to pass as a feature film. Classified as horror, there's actually little in the way of scares or even gore (most of it is implied). This is more of a supernatural chiller toying with your expectations.
Paxton directs and stars as a character who doesn't have a name, simply known as Dad by his children. His performance is spot on as a loving father who so adamantly believes that what he's doing is right, differentiating between destroying demons and killing people by telling his son Adam that "destroying demons is a good thing. Killing people is bad." Also, when Fenton worryingly tells Adam, "Dad's gonna kill somebody," Adam seems to be unusually happy at this thought.
But how does he know that it's God calling him, and not something else entirely? Fenton discriminates by calling the giver of these visions "Dad's God", yet, if it is The God calling, then why choose this family? Especially when an angel reveals something rather shocking about Fenton to his father, evoking Abraham's dilemma with Isaac on Mount Moriah. He is also a caring father (concerned about the blisters on Fenton's hands), with the exception being the point at which he locks Fenton in a cellar.
Now, it could be because of recent high profile cases, such as the sexually perverse crimes of Josef Fritzl, and the kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard, that cause this moment to be unintentionally loaded with new meanings. Would God allow a father to lock his son down in a cellar because of his lack of faith? Well, "Dad's God" would. Without going all spoilerific, there's some trust issues, which astonishingly allows Dad to justify locking up his son. But given earlier references to God given "free will", this scene fits very uncomfortably with everything else.
McConaughey has a rather unsettling presence (narrating too), showing that he clearly has the acting chops, and ought to try and seek out quality like this rather than opting for every romantic comedy that's thrown his way. The child stars, Jeremy Sumpter as Adam and Matt O'Leary as Fenton, also shouldn't be underestimated. Thankfully, Paxton must have chosen them for their acting ability, because physically they just don't come across as brothers. Leary in particular excels, with the strict obedience to his father disintegrating as his fear increases. Both went on to star in bigger films, with Sumpter playing the lead in P.J. Hogan's big budget adaptation of Peter Pan, while Leary went on to star in the Spy Kids sequels and cult classic Brick.
Made on a budget of $11 million, Frailty opened in April 2002, opposite Changing Lanes, The Sweetest Thing and Human Nature. Despite positive reviews, it managed an okay take of $4.2 million on its opening weekend, placing it at number nine on the weekend chart. It clearly didn't last long. Paxton later directed the historical golfing drama The Greatest Game Ever Played, which fared somewhat similarly at the box office.
The real genius here is writer Brent Hanley, who unfortunately hasn't written another feature since. Maybe he's waiting for another vision from God. He does script a few too many plot turns during the final act, which do elevate the film (mostly because they border upon the damn near hilarious), even if they are admittedly predictable.
Frailty has become one of those cheapo DVDs you now see in the reduced section in supermarkets or late on TV schedules. Lionsgate is releasing an affordable blu-ray edition before the end of the year. Unfortunately there's little in the way of new extras, apart from a 7.1 DTS Master soundtrack. Give it a watch, because this has enough surprises and raises more intelligent questions than your usual Sunday service. It's more fun than going to church... that is until Sunday Schools start teaching children how to slay demons.