I've wanted to see this movie when it came out in 2001 but I just never got around to seeing it for various reasons, but now, twelve years later, I finally got to see it. And what a little gem of movie it turned out to be. Time has been extremely good to this movie as it doesn't rely on over-the-top special effects, gory scenes dependent on super violent blood shed, nor gallons up on gallons of blood spraying from the body in all kinds of various ways. Instead this movie heralds back to the good old days of Hollywood where story line and characters were used in a movie.
I would classify this movie as a low budget movie and if all low budget movies could aspire to be like this one, then low budget movies could easily be something great instead of the pretentious, agenda pushing, and shocking values they've become. They forget to tell an actual story and become so focused on delivering a message and interpretation that they become lost to what actually makes a movie, good and that is (to repeat the phrase again) storyline and characters.
Frailty is never, for one second, lost to the confines that have shackled low budget film making for so long, as the pacing and story telling keep things rolling along with never a dull moment. Despite the grim, brutal subject matter of a father who hears the voice of God telling him to kill people and then bringing his sons along to apprentice them in delivering the justice of God to people, the movie remains a highly spiritual affair that doesn't mock or make fun of Christianity or God. A few twists do abound as the movie starts to wrap up but the story is never obsessed with them and they aren't the driving force of the movie. The driving force of the movie is, honestly, Matthew McCaughey as he tells an FBI agent how his life changed when his father heard God's voice to kill people. And the story he unfolds is engrossing and mesmerizing as delivered in McCaughey's southern droll, with each word he completely drew me in as he peeled the story of his childhood away layer by layer.
What a job Bill Paxton did of directing. I'm not going to say he was super great but he was competent and assured in away most film makers seem overtaken with everything or wanting to show off when they don't need to. He just let the story line and characters do their job as he got out of the way and communicated to the audience in a mature way. There isn't anything flashy in the direction or editing of this movie and there didn't need to be because the story line didn't need it. Paxton knew this and let the story line and characters be the focal point of the movie. The movie does have a television type of feel to it but that is only because the budget didn't help with this but Paxton doesn't let that get in his way from telling a compelling story, which is what any good director would do, never let the limitations of the budget be a crutch.
Overall this a good movie dealing with a dark and grim subject matter but looking at it in a mature way as they story doesn't pander or talk down to audience.
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