Collaborator (2011)

Directed and Written by Martin Donovan
Starring Donovan and David Morse
Runtime 88min. - Not Rated
3.5 Stars (out of 4)

"Collaborator" is available for $5.99 on ITunes, Amazon Instant and Vudu.

I didn't know what to expect from this film. I hadn't even seen a trailer when I rented it from Amazon. All I knew is that it was written and directed by Martin Donovan, and featured Donovan and David Morse in the starring roles. I reasoned that was enough to give it a try and that reasoning proved fruitful.

This is the 2nd review in a row that features a struggling writer of screen and stage. The struggles for Robert Longfellow (Donovan), however, are much more external than my previous subject. The film opens with Longfellow's most recent stage-play being brutally mocked by some local radio hosts who take pleasure in the pain of others. The play is the latest in a string of critical failures and Robert is beginning to feel the effects.

Longfellow heads out to his hometown of L.A. to visit his mom and clear his head. There we meet Gus (Morse), an acquaintance from childhood. Gus is the total antithesis of Robert. He's never left home and has been living with, and mooching from his mom. He lacks the education and articulation of Robert, but that doesn't stop him from insisting that they hang out. Robert learns from his mom that Gus doesn't work and spends a lot of time in jail for petty crimes and the occasional physical assault.

When Robert finally agrees to have a beer with Gus, things go from awkward to dangerous. It turns out that Gus is being pursued by police in connection with the murder of a liquor store clerk. When the cops knock at the door, Robert's role as reluctant drinking buddy gets upgraded to hostage.

The first act of the film is just setting the stage for the hostage situation. Like all good hostage movies, it gives the chance for the characters to have lengthy philosophical debates. In "Collaborator" those debates are fairly civil. Despite producing a firearm, Gus insists that the two of them just drink and "shoot the shit". Robert complies out of both fear and curiosity. The resulting conversations mark a huge gap in social status between the characters.

There are a lot of subplots going on that neither add to nor take away from the film. I suppose they are intended to get the audience invested in the character of Robert. For me they were simply a distraction from the main course.

There's a history between Gus and Robert that we don't learn until the climax. I won't give it away, but it stems from Gus' mental state. It's the same mental state that keeps you glued to the character. I'm not sure how to describe Gus' personality. I think it's "obnoxiously easygoing". Imagine Tommy Chong on steroids with glimpses of Sam Kinison showing through. Despite the danger he presents, Gus is can be extremely funny. I've liked David Morse in other roles, but I've never seen him more vibrant than this. It may seem egotistical for Martin Donovan to cast himself as a star, but he definitely let David Morse have the bigger role. That's not to say Donovan is bad, his character is just far more grounded.

I'm not sure if this story was originally a screenplay. It could have easily worked on stage. The opening act could have been rewritten as a series of phone calls and monologues allowing the whole thing to take place on one set. It's the same feel I got from Cormac McCarthy's "The Sunset Limited". Like that film, I really enjoyed "Collaborator". For $5.99, it's one of the best V.O.D exclusives to have hit the platform.