Few Options (2011)

I grabbed this movie off the shelves of my local library without much thought, because they were closing in a few minutes and I didn't have time to make a proper selection.When I got home and looked more closely at the cover, I thought, 'Oh, great. This can't be much good.'Surprise, surprise.The plot is far from a new one: convicted felon gets out of prison and must grapple with the real world. Old associates make themselves known, and have no good in store.'Frank' played by Kenny Johnson, is our ex-con. Frank is perennially confused and even a tad bumbling. He quickly learns of the new complexities of the world he's been absent from for the last 22 years, and is quick to give up any notion he's ever going to have a normal life again.Enter his old gang and boss, the only family willing to take him back, but at a terrible price. Frank is then made an offer that he cannot refuse, or he will die. While the low-budget production makes itself glaringly obvious from the start, as well as a few bad-acting hic-cups here and there, the story rapidly develops into something intriguing and resourceful. What will our protagonist do? What will his solution be? How will he get out of this?The movie is a delight, and the soundtrack is excellent.

Quite cliché essentially, but gets away with it, mostly due to the sympathetic atmosphere of the whole. The protagonist is a helpless ex-con who is confronted with a new (and old, in another way) world, after about 25 years of incarceration. The plot has a slow pacing and takes careful steps towards a few inevitable confrontations... it pretty much worked for me.The acting of Kenny Johnson is decent, although he isn't the most charismatic actor. There are quite a few other (bigger or smaller) roles played by some familiar names, of which Erin Daniels was my favorite. Brad Dourif, Rainn Wilson, Laura San Giacomo (tiny role) and Michael Sheen (tiny role) are worth mentioning also.Nice twist at the end, but I'm not sure how much I liked him 'just' walking away (from his mother and Helen)... but I'll take it. P.s. June 25th, 2014: terrible new title.

Never has the simpleton Pfc. Louden Downey echoed through a story's protagonist as this one. The typical story of a man turning his life around but finds himself constantly between the proverbial rock and hard place.The progression of the protagonist is by no means aided by the actor's attempt at portrayal of innocence lost.The story is simply mundane,unbelievable,and filled with glaring predictability. From "not knowing how to do this" in an attempt at dating after a stint in prison to the "has little Johnny learned his lesson that crime doesn't pay" progression of the protagonist. Ultimately the story fell flat out of the gate,leaving one to ponder:"Would I have been captivated by the story minus the atrocious acting?" If story is akin to life,and past is prologue,then god help us all.

Loved the script and the directing. Strong cast, strong story. The story deals with confronting issues of character that many wish to sweep under the rug or are unwilling to toil with. One is forced to look within and question what their own choices might be given the rescue of a family member betrayed. Where does the fault lie? Cornered and out or resources, you would often not reconcile such a choice unless confronting with making one as is the case here. The acting is very believable and the cast is well chosen. I never left the story, felt fully entrenched within it. Definitely a ride worth taking and worth recommending. A testament of the talent of an ensemble cast and crew.