{"id":6202,"date":"2018-10-18T10:25:07","date_gmt":"2018-10-18T17:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=6202"},"modified":"2018-10-18T10:25:07","modified_gmt":"2018-10-18T17:25:07","slug":"review-galveston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=6202","title":{"rendered":"Review: GALVESTON"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\"\"In \u201cGalveston,\u201d the always committed Ben Foster boosts director M\u00e9lanie Laurent\u2019s adaptation of a Nic Pizzolatto novel. It\u2019s a grim and brutal picture.<\/p>\n

After learning that he\u2019s very sick, presumably with lung cancer, Roy Cady (Foster) is understandably shaken. A low level criminal enforcer for a dangerous boss (played by Beau Bridges), Roy decides to ignore his doctor\u2019s advice and carry on with his unhealthy lifestyle. So, when he\u2019s sent on a nocturnal intimidation job by his employer, he approaches it with reckless abandon. And when the job goes bloody wrong, he finds himself in the possession of a 19-year-old prostitute named Raquel (Elle Fanning). At first, she throws herself at him, but he rejects the child\u2019s advances. While Roy is a merciless killer, he has a moral code of sorts.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Fearing that he\u2019s been double-crossed, Roy takes off from New Orleans to Galveston, and Raquel tags along. On the trip, they stop and pick up Raquel\u2019s 3-year-old sister. Roy\u2019s responsibilities continue to grow.<\/p>\n

A moody drama with crime elements, debut screenwriter Jim Hammett adapts a novel by \u201cTrue Detective\u201d creator Nic Pizzolatto. This means that the material is unapologetically violent in places and the focus is on fridge dwellers wrapped up in criminal enterprises. But Hammett\u2019s script under Laurent\u2019s direction does not rely too heavily on the action and violence, instead building a credible relationship between the two leads.<\/p>\n

Fanning is very good as the troubled teen on the edge. And her pairing with Foster is an unusual one, especially given the choice to have Foster\u2019s character take on a more fatherly role. Foster, whose wonderful work earlier this year in \u201cLeave No Trace\u201d cannot be forgotten, has the brutal unpredictability that the character requires. The health condition adds a fatalistic momentum to all of his actions. And this makes Fanning\u2019s portrayal of Raquel, who has basic street-wise survival instincts, seem almost wholesome even as her character decides to turn tricks to make ends meet.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The setting, a run-down Galveston motel, is reminiscent of a grimier version of \u201cThe Florida Project.\u201d Don\u2019t expect any bright and happy moments, however, this place is pretty dim and dangerous. Certainly, it\u2019s not a place for children, and despite Raquel\u2019s best efforts, she\u2019s terribly ill-ill-equipped for parenting. This casts a dour pall over the narrative, making \u201cGalveston\u201d a bit of a depressing affair.<\/p>\n

Laurent\u2019s direction relies heavily on setting the mood with harsh visuals from cinematographer Arnaud Potier. And time is taken to let the images breathe. Laurent\u2019s languid approach gives the entire film a dreamy quality, which plays well when there is a time jump as the story draws to a close.<\/p>\n

\u201cGalveston\u201d is a hard film about hard people that\u2019s well-acted, shot, and directed. It\u2019s not a nice story, but a true one nonetheless.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ben Foster delivers in Nic Pizzolatto adaptation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[921,922,542,923,924,925,926],"class_list":["post-6202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-arnaud-potier","tag-beau-bridges","tag-ben-foster","tag-elle-fanning","tag-galveston","tag-melanie-laurent","tag-nic-pizzolatto","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6202\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}