Relative Evil (2004)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Simply A Masterpiece

Beautiful, moving film.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Jonathan Tucker is back from a six month rehab stint. His stepdad is angry, is mother is clueless, and he has relatives who (Ms. Jennifer Tilly, doing the 'maneater' variant of her persona) want to kill him for the life insurance policy. Overly earnest low-budgeter is so suffused with trying to be 'important' and 'meaningful' and saying something about addiction that it ceases to be entertaining in any way -- it is, in fact, something of a grind to sit through. Though it certainly means well. Cast is good and crew does the best with it's limited budget, giving everything a fairly good gritty blue-collar vibe. But really, the script signals all it's punches, with everyone speaking in a peculiar "writerly" arch kind of way. And it's positively righteous during the flashbacks at the rehab center -- no one doubts the sincerity of it all, but it just clunks about on screen. Not recommended.

I just saw this film on TV; it just ended moments ago. I was pleasantly surprised by the things brought out about people that exist everywhere.The only fault that I found with this truly great motion picture was the ending. I am not saying that all great films should have a happy or sad ending or it is bad to have an ending that leaves the thought, "I wonder" ...What I am saying is that playing fast and loose with so many, many constant flash backs and flash forwards, and then doing the same thing throughout the short, stark ending, can leave the viewer with no idea of what really happens or happened at the end. Is he back with the group session or is that another flash back in the last few seconds of the film?If that was the purpose, as many films have had an ending that leaves one up in the air; I am not sure that doing it via flash forewords or flashbacks, up through and into the last frames, is really smart movie making. It is like having someone spend hours or days reading a novel, only to find out that the last three pages were not printed. That may tread on ... I hate to use the word here on a great film, but here at the end I felt cheated, by a gimmick.Other than that I could not take my eyes off the screen.

This is one of those little movies that you leave just shaking your head thinking, `this is probably the best movie playing in this theatre right now, too bad no one will ever get to see it.' Personally, I just happened by it when my girlfriend convinced me to go to an Independent Film Festival. This has got to be the most independent film I have ever seen, I even got to ask the director the question, `what are you going to do to get this movie out there.'Not all movies need a lot of money to tell a great and touching story. I was consumed by this tale of a 17-year-old boy struggling with alcohol addiction. His family is not just a bunch of stereotypes placed there to progress the story, they, along with everyone else, have the feeling of real people. You will not predict how this movie will end but, then again, you'll never get the chance to watch it.

I saw the movie at the Chicago premier. I have to agree with zooeyfan. Extremely powerful amazing performances. Jennifer Tilly is poisonous. Ethan Embry is menacing. Jonathan Tucker is excellent. The cinematography is quite good. But what a bunch of dysfunctional characters, and what a sad movie!