Imperium
3/4
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Toni Collette, Sam Trammell, Tracy Letts, Pawel Szajda
Rated R for Language Throughout
The problem with being a teen idol is that it's fleeting. As soon as your franchise is over or you get pimples, your career is doomed to a TV spot if your lucky and reality TV if you're desperate. From the moment he got the once-in-a-lifetime role of The Boy Who Lived, Daniel Radcliffe has been actively carving out a career outside playing Harry Potter. From the TV movie "My Boy Jack" and "December Boys," which I don't know if anyone saw, to his controversial stage appearance in "Eqqus" (opposite his "Harry Potter" co-star Richard Griffiths, who if memory serves defiantly defended his decision to appear nude on stage), it's hard to imagine that Radcliffe took a year off filming to be a normal teenager.
Even after "Harry Potter" franchise wrapped up in 2011, Radcliffe has stayed busy. While he was miscast in "The Woman in Black" (a remake of a TV movie starring his "Harry Potter" father Adrian Rawlins), he turned on the charm in the hipster romantic comedy "What If." He also starred as Allen Ginsberg in "Kill Your Darlings," opposite no less than Dane DeHaan, Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Jason Leigh, the horror film "Horns," and the quirky cult hit "Swiss Army Man." I haven't seen any of those films, but that's beside the point. Clearly, Radcliffe shows no signs of slowing down, and if he continues to stretch his talents and take chances, he's going to be a very interesting actor for a long time. And he took a very big chance with "Imperium," where he plays an FBI agent who goes undercover as a neo-Nazi. It's harder to imagine a bigger step away from the boy with a famous scar on his forehead than this, but judging by his momentum, I wouldn't put anything past him.
Radcliffe plays Nate Foster, a promising young FBI agent. A sizable amount of radioactive cesium has just been stolen, and while most think it's an Islamic fundamentalist group, Angela (Collette) believes otherwise. She thinks it's one of the many rising white supremacist groups, and the terrorists are tied to a radio show host named Dallas Wolf (Letts). Nate is sent into infiltrate and stop it.
Watching this movie, I thought of Macauley Culkin in "Party Monster." Both films feature child stars taking drastic measures to shed their child star images. While choosing this role certainly isn't as "out there" as playing a drugged out narcissist like Michael Alig, it's definitely gutsy. But Radcliffe dives right in, throwing out profanity as if its nothing and spewing out racist bile when the situation calls for it. And he sports a flawless, and I mean flawless, American accent. Nate is smart and able to think on his feet, which gets him out of tricky situations when things don't go the way he anticipates. But Radcliffe also sports a pair of expressive eyes, which he uses to great effect. Nate is in over his head, but he's going to survive the best he can. And the horrible things he has to say and do for the job truly hurt him. He's ably supported by the always interesting Toni Collette, Tracy Letts as a guy who makes Alex Jones seem well adjusted, and up and coming actors Sam Trammell and Pawel Szajda.
Director and co-writer Daniel Ragussis opts for a slow burn approach, which suits the material just fine. This is a psychological thriller where Nate is in constant danger of being discovered. What makes this all the more interesting is that this is based on a true story. Michael German, Nate's real-life counterpart, helped write the screenplay, which probably contributes to its realism. And it does feel realistic. Ragussis opts not to turn the white supremacists into caricatures, which not only grounds the film, but makes it very uncomfortable to watch (similar to "American History X" or "The Believer"). They're a varied bunch. Some are using hatred and menace to combat their own insecurities. Others are so rotten and warped that they are probably beyond redemption.
"Imperium" is not for everyone. That goes without saying. But for those who take the journey, the reward is a riveting journey, and evidence why Daniel Radcliffe is a fantastic young actor.
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Toni Collette, Sam Trammell, Tracy Letts, Pawel Szajda
Rated R for Language Throughout
The problem with being a teen idol is that it's fleeting. As soon as your franchise is over or you get pimples, your career is doomed to a TV spot if your lucky and reality TV if you're desperate. From the moment he got the once-in-a-lifetime role of The Boy Who Lived, Daniel Radcliffe has been actively carving out a career outside playing Harry Potter. From the TV movie "My Boy Jack" and "December Boys," which I don't know if anyone saw, to his controversial stage appearance in "Eqqus" (opposite his "Harry Potter" co-star Richard Griffiths, who if memory serves defiantly defended his decision to appear nude on stage), it's hard to imagine that Radcliffe took a year off filming to be a normal teenager.
Even after "Harry Potter" franchise wrapped up in 2011, Radcliffe has stayed busy. While he was miscast in "The Woman in Black" (a remake of a TV movie starring his "Harry Potter" father Adrian Rawlins), he turned on the charm in the hipster romantic comedy "What If." He also starred as Allen Ginsberg in "Kill Your Darlings," opposite no less than Dane DeHaan, Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Jason Leigh, the horror film "Horns," and the quirky cult hit "Swiss Army Man." I haven't seen any of those films, but that's beside the point. Clearly, Radcliffe shows no signs of slowing down, and if he continues to stretch his talents and take chances, he's going to be a very interesting actor for a long time. And he took a very big chance with "Imperium," where he plays an FBI agent who goes undercover as a neo-Nazi. It's harder to imagine a bigger step away from the boy with a famous scar on his forehead than this, but judging by his momentum, I wouldn't put anything past him.
Radcliffe plays Nate Foster, a promising young FBI agent. A sizable amount of radioactive cesium has just been stolen, and while most think it's an Islamic fundamentalist group, Angela (Collette) believes otherwise. She thinks it's one of the many rising white supremacist groups, and the terrorists are tied to a radio show host named Dallas Wolf (Letts). Nate is sent into infiltrate and stop it.
Watching this movie, I thought of Macauley Culkin in "Party Monster." Both films feature child stars taking drastic measures to shed their child star images. While choosing this role certainly isn't as "out there" as playing a drugged out narcissist like Michael Alig, it's definitely gutsy. But Radcliffe dives right in, throwing out profanity as if its nothing and spewing out racist bile when the situation calls for it. And he sports a flawless, and I mean flawless, American accent. Nate is smart and able to think on his feet, which gets him out of tricky situations when things don't go the way he anticipates. But Radcliffe also sports a pair of expressive eyes, which he uses to great effect. Nate is in over his head, but he's going to survive the best he can. And the horrible things he has to say and do for the job truly hurt him. He's ably supported by the always interesting Toni Collette, Tracy Letts as a guy who makes Alex Jones seem well adjusted, and up and coming actors Sam Trammell and Pawel Szajda.
Director and co-writer Daniel Ragussis opts for a slow burn approach, which suits the material just fine. This is a psychological thriller where Nate is in constant danger of being discovered. What makes this all the more interesting is that this is based on a true story. Michael German, Nate's real-life counterpart, helped write the screenplay, which probably contributes to its realism. And it does feel realistic. Ragussis opts not to turn the white supremacists into caricatures, which not only grounds the film, but makes it very uncomfortable to watch (similar to "American History X" or "The Believer"). They're a varied bunch. Some are using hatred and menace to combat their own insecurities. Others are so rotten and warped that they are probably beyond redemption.
"Imperium" is not for everyone. That goes without saying. But for those who take the journey, the reward is a riveting journey, and evidence why Daniel Radcliffe is a fantastic young actor.
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