Proxy (2013)

Proxy - Trailer

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

(Liked It) 

Netflix Synopsis:  A series of revelations causes a shattered young woman who was assaulted during pregnancy to rethink her new relationships. 

The Peeps:  Zack Parker (co-writer, director); Kevin Donner (co-writer); Alexia Rasmussen, Alexa Havins, Joe Swanberg

Quick Run Down:  Great Premise, Strong Strong First Half, Lacking Second Half

Worth the Watch:  The First Hour, Absolutely; The Second... See Below

Esther Woodhouse is lying on her back in the room of a prenatal care center.  Her pregnant stomach is exposed, and we can tell she's about to pop - her belly looks like the bald head of a Caucasian giant.  A technician sits next to Esther, and she is preparing an ultrasound, all the while chit-chatting about the goods and bads of knowing a baby's sex before birth.  Esther offers little comment and mainly just stares at the ceiling with an oscillating, indecipherable expression - despair? trepidation? fear? - on her face.  The conversation continues, the ultrasound is completed, and Esther leaves.  She gets about a block away from the hospital when a hooded figure smashes a brick into the back of her skull.  When she finally wakes later, her situation has changed considerably and the path of her life has taken a serious turn.


I struggled with how much to divulge of Proxy. The above is just the opening scene written out with some lines thrown in at the end to tease the rest of the movie, and I only tease the remaining - instead of explaining - because there's a lot in this flick that works really well.  Little things and scenes that play off in a strange, uncomfortable way.  A way that, between the writing and director, make the movie almost completely engrossing, and I don't want to spoil those things because the first hour is, I think, friggin' awesome.  It's mysterious, unpredictable, fresh, and intriguing.  Esther, played by Rasmussen, appears innocent and naive, maybe even a little simple, but there's something festering under the surface. Something craving and maybe depraved.  Something that comes through in the character's actions and reactions but Rasmussen keeps hidden well through her flat expressions and delayed, almost stoned-like, attitude.  She's a character feeling things and wanting to feel more, hoping there's more to feel.  We still don't know what her true intentions or motives are, though, what she really wants, and, while we are trying to figure that out, we are suddenly presented with another character that has her own set of issues.  Issues that ultimately raise questions in the mind of a character that WE have questions about.  It's all a subtly but seamlessly layered presentation of mystery, character, screwed up emotional universes, and twisted actions done to satisfy basic human desires. And then all of that is lost.

**Spoilers Ensue**

There's a scene in the middle of Proxy that I think is brilliant.  Very cleverly directed, highly emotional if not shocking, and totally attention grabbing.  With the preceding events at play, it's hard to turn away because you're curious just what this character is going to do and then, the director gives you something AWESOME.  Something shot in a very unique, fun, and ballsy way.  It's a beautiful scene with really really really good music, but, afterwards, the tight, interesting, perfectly paced script begins to skip.  It loses focus and starts to follow too many characters.  We get away from Esther (who you don't really realize is the stitch that holds the yarn together until later in the movie) and start to follow people that we're interested in but not enough to spend the rest of the movie with.  In fact, I'll say that, after the first hour, you're going to get restless, maybe bored, because the story begins to unfold just like any other uneven horror movie - through characters we don't really care about in ways that seem unrealistic and ridiculous.  Parker (the director) might have even felt this way himself because, in that last hour, we don't have near the creativity or emotion coming from the camera.  It's all routine stuff either done in the first half or in every other movie made.  And that's sad too because that first half is cool.


For the miscellaneous stuff, there aren't any scares here but good tension that rings through a lot of the first hour scenes.  The acting from Rasmussen is very downplayed and appears lazy at times, but I'm thinking this was the choice for the character.  I've only seen her in one other movie - Losers Take All - and she was fun but not great.  I'm thinking her acting is par, but this particular character's attitude happen to suit her and that made all the difference.  Alexa Havins, who plays Melanie, does a really good job, and, even though the story loses momentum, she stays steady til the end of the film.  Joe Swanberg (Patrick) is weak, as he's been in the three or four other things I've seen him in, and Kristina Klebe (Anika) just can't pull off the nuances Havins and Rasmussen can, which leaves her out-acted.  What there is of blood, the scenes are shot in non-exploitation, if not artistic, ways to avoid drawing any kind of attention to it.  Something I noticed in the movie is that there are almost no male characters.  The first half has a very minimal cast, and every one of them are female.  Not until about mid way through do we actually get a male character, and then they pop up sporadically through the rest of the flick.  Interesting choice on Parker's part.

So, if you want to watch a movie that has a really strong first hour with some beautiful shots, really interesting plot changes, and good to great acting but finishes with a lacking, uneven, and unfocused second hour, check out Proxy.  I say I "Liked It" because I can't deny that the first half was great for me, so much so that I think it's worth the watch despite the rest.  If only they had shortened the... whatever the case, Proxy's both good and bad, all in one.  If you don't believe me, check it out for yourself.  It's on Netflix!

I'm pruneeey!

"We all need someone to listen."