Burden

 3/4

Starring: Garrett Hedlund, Forest Whitaker, Andrea Riseborough, Tom Wilkinson, Taylor Gregory

Rated R for Disturbing Violent Content, and Language Throughout including Racial Epithets

At first glance, the key scene to "Burden" might seem to be when the protagonist, Mike Burden (Hedlund), decides at the last second not to murder Reverend Kennedy (Whitaker), a local civil rights activist.  In point of fact, it comes right before.  Two groups of people are gearing up for a protest at the new Redneck Museum founded by the local Klan leader, Tom Griffin (Wilkinson).  Griffin's crowd chooses hatred.  They stew in the their own resentments, projecting their own perceived inadequacies on a target they find convenient.  They feed on hatred and cynicism because it's easy.  Kennedy's crowd similarly pumps itself up, but in a different way.  They find strength in what they have overcome, in the values that they hold dear, and what they know to be right.

Ultimately, that's what this movie is about.  Mike has to decide between doing what is easy and what is right.  He can stay with what he knows and blame every problem he has on the African American community or he can atone for his sins and realize that he is responsible for his own life.  It isn't easy for him.  Love, in many forms, offers the path to redemption, but that's the journey, not the ending.

"Burden" is a story that is painted in shades of grey and that's what gives the film its power.  Mike wants to do the right thing, but breaking free of Griffin's grasp is easier said than done.  He loses everything in his quest to get rid of his father figure's influence.  Similarly, Reverend Kennedy and his congregation are not so easily swayed by Mike's pleas for help and forgiveness.  Mike has done horrible things (the film wisely does not shy away from this), and there are lingering hurts and anger.  But they also know that the right thing to do is to let those go and give him the chance to hold true to his newfound convictions.  It isn't easy for anyone and this conflict, which is conveyed effectively and with emotional honesty, forms the film's core tension.

The performances go a long way towards the film's success.  Garrett Hedlund, the heartthrob who never made it to the A-list, turns in an effective performance as the conflicted Mike.  The actor ably conveys his character's arc, avoiding the pitfalls of martyrdom and false sentiment.  Where he goes wrong is in the body language.  Mike seems to be uncomfortable in his own skin.  Racism for him seems to be more a force of habit than true conviction (watch his interaction with an old friend, played by former teen idol Usher Raymond, early in the film).  To covey this, Hedlund is physically shifty, never allowing us to sense that he is comfortable with what he is saying or doing, unless it is with Judy (Riseborough), his girlfriend who starts him on the path towards healing.  But Hedlund overplays this and it works against us accepting his character.  One scene I did like is the fishing scene, where he takes Judy's son Franklin (Gregory) fishing with Franklin's best friend, who is black.  His initial reaction is clearly habitual; he knows how he is supposed to feel and act, but when they catch a fish, he forgets this in his excitement.  It proves the conceit that a person has to be taught to hate.

Hedlund is surrounded by a supporting cast of gifted character actors.  His counterpoint is played by Forest Whitaker, who has had a wildly uneven career.  This is one of his better performances, never allowing Reverend Kennedy to become too noble or too unbelievable.  He has his doubts about Mike, but his belief in the power of forgiveness forces him to take the high road and give the man a second chance.  He shows that forgiveness is more than mantras and prayers, and is instead a lot of hard work for both parties.  Andrea Riseborough sheds her glamorous image and is completely unrecognizable as Judy, the single mom who starts Mike down the road to breaking from his past.  She doesn't share his views, and while she loves him, she forces him to make a choice: her or the Klan.  Tom Wilkinson is an odd choice for a racist redneck, and while he is effective as the poisonous Griffin, there is a sense that another actor could have given a more frightening and volcanic performance.

If anything, writer/director Andrew Heckler is too ambitious.  There's just not enough time to fully explore all of his ideas and tangents.  Apart from the four central characters, everyone else is thinly sketched, leaving them feeling less like real people and more like tools for Heckler to make his points.  The screenplay also lacks the muscle to really give the film the power it deserves.

"Burden" is challenging cinema.  It asks difficult questions about the people it depicts and also ourselves.  The film's subject matter is the destructive power of racism, but the way Heckler approaches it makes the characters' choice feel universal.  Do we resist change because its easy, or do we look forward to the future because it's the right thing to do?