The Ungodly (2007)

Truly Dreadful Film

Sadly Over-hyped

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Let me comment on the comparisons of this movie to "Mr. Brooks" or "Henry." This one is not in the league of those two very well-done films.Unlike "Mr. Brooks," this one does not give more insight to the mind of a serial killer (or even to the interaction of other people with the killer) than an average "48 Hours" episode would. In my opinion, the characters here are flat or, at best, two-dimensional, while "Mr. Brooks" is amazingly written to provide real character depth. So if you're looking for a psychological thriller that *could* be real life, go rent "Mr. Brooks" instead, because you won't find that here.But if you've already seen "Mr. Brooks" and have nothing better to do, AND you can watch this for free, then it's entertaining for a night. I especially enjoyed the last 1/2 hour or so, and it is there that this film finally becomes somewhat worthwhile.On a whole, I was pleasantly surprised by some of the interaction and some of the surprises. But caveat emptor -- if you are a fan of depth of character and intelligent, probing writing and acting, don't expect this to be the 10-star movie some reviewers here seem to think it is.

It's usually easy to notice the big things that go wrong with a film. One of the lead actors might as well be carved out of stone or the director has no idea how to end a scene or the script wanders about the countryside like a lost little girl. A lot of times, though, it's getting the little things right that elevate a movie from run-of-the-mill schlock to something worthwhile. The Perfect Witness gets just enough of those little things right to make this a decent flick, even though it gets its one big thing slightly wrong.Mickey Gravatski (Wes Bentley) is a recovering drug addict who's been reduced to living with his aged mother. He has pretensions of being a filmmaker and has been obsessively pursuing a morally unorthodox way of getting his big break in show business. Mickey has been tracking a local serial killer and when he finally catches him on video killing a girl, he threatens to turn the tape over to the police unless the killer lets Mickey make a documentary about him. The murderer, James Lemac (Mark Borkowski), reluctantly consents and lets Mickey into his world…but only long enough to kidnap Mickey's aged mother. That's when James makes it clear that a documentary will be done, but only on his terms and Mickey is forced to scramble for a way to save his mother and himself.The Perfect Witness has much in common with many mediocre to bad films out there. The dialog is pedestrian, the camera work is mostly just okay and plot doesn't have much flow or pace to it. However, it consistently gets so many little moments absolutely right to distract you from its weaknesses and that starts from the very beginning. The movie opens with Mickey in a dark alley. He has his camera sees a woman burst out of a doorway, trying to escape from Lemac. Mickey is dozens of yards away and films Lemac stabbing the girl to death, then barely escaping with his life when Lemac sees him and chases after him.Here's how filmmakers Thomas Dunn and Mark Borkowski get it right. Mickey's plan to blackmail a serial killer into doing a documentary is repellent and brutally selfish. He's really a terrible person for thinking of something like that, let alone trying to go through with it. But the audience doesn't know that when we first see Mickey in that alley. We don't know who he is or why he's in that alley, only that he witnesses a murder and then flees from the killer. Not only does that lead the viewer to empathize with Mickey, but you naturally classify him as "the good guy" because he's presented in uncompromised contrast to the bad guy. Even the way the scene is staged, Mickey is far enough away from the killing that you don't judge him for not trying to stop it. That opening scene is then followed up by some relatively subtle business that establishes both Mickey's down-on-his-luck circumstances and his desperate desire to make something of himself.So, a connection is formed between the audience and Mickey. They're led to see him as "the hero" and then given the context of his life and what he's trying to do about it. That's when we find out about Mickey's awful agenda but by then, we're invested enough in the character to care. This story could have easily begun in a different way that didn't engage the viewer at all. It could have started with Mickey getting the idea of his serial killer documentary or dropped us into the midst of Mickey's efforts to track the killer or his planning of how to get him on film to blackmail him. The problem is that my reaction, and I think the reaction of others, to that would be…"Why should I give a damn what happens to this horrible Mickey guy?"These filmmakers understand that what Mickey is planning to do is awful and he's an awful person for doing it, so they need to get the viewer to engage with Mickey and care about him, even if in only a shallow way, before revealing his plan. I have seen so many pathetic excuses of motion pictures where the people involved have obviously never considered the nature of their story or the need to appeal to the audience. They're clearly caught up in how "edgy" and "cool" they think they are and just as clearly expect the audience to almost feel privileged to be able to see their cinematic masterpiece. The Perfect Witness never does any of that. It's always hitting the correct note in the right way to get and keep the audience's attention.With all those little things just right, it becomes easy to forgive the film for kind of floundering for a point. This thing does not have the pace or plot to be a thriller and instead is going for more of a character-driven drama, setting up Mickey and Lemac as mirror image addicts with mother issues. But I don't think these filmmakers ever quite figured out what the point of that reflection was supposed to be and where it was going to lead to. That sort of confusion is usually fatal to a movie, but so much else about The Perfect Witness works so well that here, it's a minor annoyance.The people who made this film are people who should make films for a living. That may sound like faint praise, but with all the filmmakers out there who should really be cleaning out septic tanks and doing land surveying for the local zoning board, it isn't.

Okay...I watched this film last night on Showtime; something else was scheduled, but when this movie appeared instead, I didn't change the channel.I will not fault "The Ungodly" on either the plot or the acting, although the title cannot have been what the filmmakers originally intended. The film is very novelistic, and I would not be surprised if it had been a novel originally. The unreality of much of what occurs, as well as the conduct/misconduct of the characters is, I believe, due to the fact that it is intended as more of a morality play than as a drama.Didn't anyone notice all the parallelism between the central characters? Such as the impaired relationship with the mother, the addiction (note especially the scene in the hospital elevator), not to mention the fact that in the end one character essentially becomes the other.And didn't anyone notice that this is a film about a filmmaker? Movie-within-movie suggests strongly taking another step back, to watch ourselves as audience members. Don't we, to some degree, share in the filmmaker's fascination with his subject? And doesn't that implicate us in acts of evil? And, speaking of watching in fascination, didn't anyone notice the theme of sight and blindness? The rape victim is commanded to keep her eyes on her violator so that evil will be fully witnessed. The serial killer craved more than anything else for his own abuse as a child to be witnessed, which is a major component of psychological healing. He needed the voyeuristic camera as an addict needs his/her drug: compulsively, unwillingly, fatalistically.Of all the ways the killer's mother could have been killed herself at the end, the weapon of choice (the pillow) was the only one that cut off sight at the same time it cut off breath.All of the action leads up to this climax, both dramatically and psychologically. There is a sense in which the whole thing is a particularly complex dream that has been brought to analysis. If one thinks of all the characters as being aspects of the same individual, it becomes much more coherent.I don't have either the time or the inclination to do a full critique of this film, but I am tossing these tidbits into the mix for the contemplation of others. I believe "The Ungodly" is a better movie than most commentators, because of its multiple strands of meaning and its...er...satisfying conclusion, in which the eyes are at last wide open, as if having finally awakened from a nightmare.

There are a lot good and bad comments, - so heavy to add something new to, but i try.(1) It's heavy for one indie to pay a star ! (2) But we also need to make the good films, so we do our best. (3) This film is total different to all "sample", what folks here try to related with, it's unique and fresh in mind. (4) There no "copy" in plot to anything else ! (5) It's totally ORIGINALLY ! (6) Perfect acting ! (7) Super editing in picture and sound, of course cinematography as well... (8) The director make his best to show the roots of a the psychopath-killer...and I guess, (but not sure) the director try to claim someone outside of that pure guy, the serial killer,By the way abuse is not that seldom, as well in US and outside, so the MESSAGE is arrive everyone, who thing with brain, and not with his cock,Resume: - ALL GREAT IN THAT MOVIE, Congratulations, Thomas to succeeded film!to all other: tip : - go make your one, if u don't like others works.... ;-))