The Flock - C-

On DVD

Released theatrically overseas, but not in the US, I knew the film would be an iffy proposition. Richard Gere stars as the most vigilant government employee ever as he visits and registers sex offenders. He's violent and sarcastic with them and he has been fired and forced to train his replacement (Claire Danes). Of course, movie coincidences, revelations, and redemption follows. (Click below for more, including 3rd act spoilers)

Directed by Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs), I figured the film would have some panache and style and it certainly does. Some of the settings and situations will get under your skin. Set in and around Albuquerque, New Mexico, the landscapes are predictably beautiful and used well. But the subject matter of rapists, pedophiles, and fetishists is a rough one to sit through, even more so when viewed through the eyes of Gere who thinks everyone around is total perv.

Danes is mostly wasted in her thinly written role, but Gere is believably earnest, selling his role of a burnt-out guardian well. The supporting characters are forgettable. I avoid modern horror films like Saw and its sequels, etc. because they're all about shock value and pushing the envelope. People will discuss what happened and how disgusting it was. This film turned into that genre in the last 30 minutes when the 17 year old abducted girl has her foot and ankle severed. Until then, it's a mildly respectable thriller with Taxi Driver and Silence of the Lambs undertones. I'm not sure how I would have ended it, but there was enough carnage (including Avril Lavigne) that preceded without going that far.