Exterritorial

I was going to review an Argentinian post-apocalyptic thriller, but realized too late it’s a tv series. Bummer. Instead I went with this German movie that is Taken had a baby with The Bourne Identity. A missing child, a mysteriously dangerous parent on the hunt, a foreign embassy, a dark haired woman helping out. Only this time, the dangerous parent is a German waif of a woman.

A German veteran who has documented mental issues stemming from being blown up in Afghanistan goes to the American embassy on her way to a new job, a new beginning in the states. Not long after leaving her hyper kid in a playroom she discovers he has gone missing. It doesn’t take long for personnel to tell her she actually came alone. She doesn’t quite believe them and goes on the hunt.

That’s the basic story, but by the time the kid goes missing we have a lot of information due to the tightly written script by Christian Zübert, who also directed. In the first minute and a half this cute woman at a crowded city park next to an urban lake shares her fries and an English lesson with her equally cute kid. We learn that the husband is dead, she’s ex-military and dangerous, and she has a world class case of PTSD. Some movies take an hour to give the viewer that much. We learn it with show don’t tell and I quickly liked this movie. I began to not miss the post-apocalypse thriller.

The strongest part of the film is its script. From the very first moments a viewer has their doubts, and that’s no accident. We see the kid with her in the park, but we know the dad died. Is the kid real, or wish fulfillment? Then a helicopter flies overhead and she freaks out some. She has issues and they’re right on the surface ready to go. The kid wanders away from her on the way to the embassy, so when he disappears, we’re supposed to understand that can happen. Now she’s stuck in a system that has only the veneer of hospitality. Embassy personnel seem friendly, but they give her a lot of side eye and it isn’t long before they outright tell her she’s messed up. The viewer has a lot of clues leading one way or another. It’s easy to believe she did come in with a kid, but it’s every bit as easy to think she’s having a breakdown. We absolutely do not know for sure what’s going on, even as she descends into a desperate and increasingly violent search. I was really wowed by the writing here, because there are big as well as subtle clues relentlessly dropped on both sides for a very long time.

Even well into the film there are subtle clues that a suspicious person like me could take as fake. I loved it. I also loved how the filmmaker uses the word “gaslight” at one point. Is she being gaslit? Is she gaslighting?

There are more than a couple of fight scenes in the film. Sara is supposed to be this badass special forces veteran but that is probably the weakest part of the movie is she doesn’t quite sell it. Better is the idea that she is great at infiltration, because the writing again shows her being intelligent and resourceful. It’s not entirely the actress’s fault for the fight sequences, because the film falls into a common trap. Everyone takes a lot more damage than is feasible. If someone hit you in the temple with a large ceramic object, would you get up thirty seconds later to continue the fight? Yeah, me neither.

The only weak part of the writing that I could see was that the movie is a little too long. The first half is taut, but the second half spends time wandering around. That’s too bad, but definitely not a deal breaker. The most difficult thing is typing the title because my brain refuses to get it right. I recommend this movie on the writing alone, though the action sequences aren’t bad, just occasionally a little unbelievable.

Triggers: mild child endangerment

Available on: Netflix

LINKS:

• Exterritorial – Official Netflix Site
• Exterritorial – IMDB
• Exterritorial – Wikipedia
• Exterritorial – Netflix Article: Exterritorial: Everything You Need to Know About the Thriller

CFR: In Addition

Well huh. I think I will watch this now. I am also a fan of Dougray Scott. It looks intriguing. I am also very sympathetic to PTSD.

Cranky talked about selling the fight scenes. I was talking with E.C. yesterday about action heroines and selling fights/fight scenes. We agreed that Gina Carano is a great action star because she WAS a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) star. She knew how to fight and win AND had the muscles and body mass to throw and take a punch. She made her debut in Haywire and proved her screen strength. Now Charlize Theron, though not as muscled and thinner sells fight scenes because she looks meaner than a junkyard dog, has great technique, and will not back down no matter what. What’s a head wound?? You can check her out in Atomic Blonde and Old Guard. This is also true of Kiera Knightley in Black Doves. I started watching and thought there was no way Kiera Knightley would be believable in a fight. I took it back the minute she threw her first punch. Well done, Kiera.

Always in the mood for some action/adventure.

Thanks, Cranky.