Tuesday, January 7, 2020

2019 - IN REVIEW: MOST UNDERRATED

FAST COLOR

The movie that I have chosen for my most underrated film of 2019 is this sadly under-seen gem, “Fast Color” directed by Julia Hart. It is about a mother who is simultaneously on the run and attempting to reconnect with her eight year old daughter, after her super powers are discovered by the government who want her for themselves. It is essentially almost an origin story of a superhero, except that the film's focus is more on the family drama rather than the bigger superhero side of things. with the film written and directed by a woman, and the three main characters themselves being female, it is fair to say that this is a superhero film from a woman's perspective, and it is one that is much more emotive than its male counterpart. Something interesting that I read that director Hart said about the film is that while superhero films from the normal male point of view focus heavily on destruction, her film is the opposite as that it is more about “creation”.

I loved this film; it is such a beautiful tale of love and redemption and for fighting for your family. The main characters are three generations of women from the same family, all who possess supernatural powers but keep them hidden from the outside world. The main character of Ruth is the middle generation, and she is estranged from her mother and daughter at the beginning of the film because her powers are so powerful that she struggles to contain and control them. After almost inadvertently killing her daughter, Lila, when she was her baby via her powers, Ruth abandoned her daughter, leaving her with her own mother, Bo, to raise her grandchild. After that Ruth started dabbling in drugs to dull the sensations in her body and thereby squashing her supernatural abilities. However as time has passed, all she wants to do now is to be with her little girl and raise her, but when her family's safety is threatened by the government, it is the catalyst for Ruth to learn how to harness and control her ultimate power to protect her loved ones.

As you can see from the above, there is that supernatural bent to the story, but believe me, the real heart of the story is the emotional connections between the three women as they work through their initial pain and hurt to fight for redemption, remake a connection and love each other once more, while learning at the end that there is no greater power than love itself. Reading back on that sentence, it sounds a little corny, but it really isn't thanks to Julia Hart's sensitive handling of the material that she co-wrote with her husband Jordan Horowitz. All of the performances in the film are very good, particularly Gugu Mbatha-Raw who plays Ruth. At the start of the film she has a hard edge to her, due to the rough way she had brought herself up, but as the film moves on, she begins to soften and become more and more maternal. And the girl who plays her daughter, Saniyya Sidney, is bloody adorable; she just lights up every scene she is a part of. Another performance that I want to mention that is small but impressive is that of David Strathairn whose role in the film I won't reveal, as it is a lovely moment when we find out his purpose in the narrative. He is so soft spoken and quiet in his performance.

“Fast Color” is also a magnificent looking film filled with colour, especially during the scenes when the girls use their powers. The colours do hold a large significance within the film so I will not ruin their purpose either, but it leads to some stunning visual moments.

This is a film that I really wish a lot more people would know about, as it is a little different but it is very well done, and is good family entertainment. Filled with emotion, this is a superhero film that is not the norm, but one I highly recommend. “Fast Color” also has one of my favourite movie posters of 2019 too.

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