Director: Stephen S Campanelli
Writer: Iver William Jallah, Rich Ronat (Screenplay)
Starring: Nicolas Cage, KaDee Strickland, Luke Benward, Kelsey Grammar, Zulay Henao, Oliver Trevena, Emily Marie Palmer, Beatruce Hernandez
Plot: A young father is charged with murder and must prove his innocence by recalling a very twisted and dark night of events.
Tagline – A storm is coming
Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Grand Isle starts when new father Buddy (Benward) takes a job fixing a fence for Walter (Cage) and Fancy (Strickland), only for a storm to hit, which leaves him stuck there for the night, he is caught in an awkward conflict with Walter, while Fancy seems to be trying to seduce him.
When Buddy is framed for a murder, he becomes the prime suspect and must tell all on the night with Detective Jones (Grammar) to prove his innocence.
Thoughts on Grand Isle
Characters – Walter is the former marine that spends his days drinking and not doing much since his time in the services, he is in a loveless marriage with his wife and can switch between emotions in the click of his fingers. Fancy is the wife of Walter’s, she is flirty with everyone around her home, no matter what Walter thinks, while showing her welcoming nature. Buddy is the new father and former Navy man who is trying to make a living for his young family with odd jobs around town, his latest one will see him framed for murder and needing to remember the events of the night before, which will show his innocence from early on.
Performances – Nicolas Cage is always going to be an appeal to watch in any movie, here he draws you in and brings moments of his crazy style, only it doesn’t seem to hit home enough, with the rest of the cast all struggling to make an impact on the film.
Story – The story here follows a young father who while on his latest job ends up being framed for a murder and most recount his night with the owners of the house. This does show us early that our lead Buddy clearly never killed anyone, so most of the story is him being tempted by the wife of the house and learning more about the couple’s secret, which will see them show to be more deadly than believed. It does go at a slow pace, it does seem to be all over the place with the direction of everything and by the end, it just seems to fizzle out into nothingness.
Action – The action scenes in the film are very tame, with most being around the idea of a basic fight usually in the dark, so we can’t see enough going on and it doesn’t seem like enough is going on in them.
Settings – Most of the film is set in the house of Walter and Fancy, it is a big house with plenty of rooms, garden space and most importantly, locked doors, which will have secrets in.
Scene of the Movie – Cage in a fast car.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too much happens in the darkness.
Final Thoughts – This is an action film that holds back on the action and ends up being more of a mystery thriller, that doesn’t seem to hint at the bigger picture early enough into the film.
