Surveillance (2009)

Submitted by Superheidi on 06/09/2009

Written by Jennifer Lynch And Kent Harper
Directed by Jennifer Lynch
Featuring Julia Ormond, Bill Pullman, Kent Harper, French Stewart, Pell James, Mac Miller, Ryan Simpkins, Cheri Oteri, Michael Ironside, Gil Gayle and Charlie Newmark
2009

Surveillance, out in theaters on Jun 26th, 2009, is Jennifer Lynch’s first film since 1993’s strange twisted thriller Boxing Helena, which she made with Twin Peaks star Sherilynn Fenn. Boxing Helena is considered a very bad film by most people who watch films, so it caused some panic when, in 2005, Surveillance reared its head as Jennifer’s latest project. She’s also got another horror film coming out this year – Hisss, about an Indian myth of snake shape shifters. Surveillance has a touch of the comically macabre, something she may have inherited from her filmmaker father David Lynch, embedded in its small town murder spree plotline. It also has some very forced erotica and is gaudiness personified in the last 20 minutes. But now older, more mature Jennifer Lynch has created a much more mature film than Boxing Helena, and to everyone’s relief, Surveillance does have something to contribute to the world of gory serial killer movies...

Officer Bennett (Kent Harper)and Officer Conrad (French Stewart) hate their fucking jobs but love fucking with people

Lynch takes a risk with Surveillance's unorthodox casting; using comedians for serious roles. It worked for Robin Williams in One Hour Photo, and it works for French Stewart as Officer Jim Conrad. Jim Conrad, and his partner Jack Bennett (Ken Harper, who co-wrote the script) are two cliché hick cops in a hick town; they screw with drivers, beat up people who look at them wrong, and will shoot out your tire before you can blink. But in a way they’re original creations because they exhibit far more intelligence than your classic redneck cop. Jack and Jim are two smart men who have a shit job in a boring, small town that has basically ruined their bored, mundane, and unfulfilling lives. On the day in question, a maniacal serial killer arrives and Jack and Jim are the two men forced to deal with a violent and psychopathic killer.

Agent Anderson (Julia Ormond) and Agent Hallaway (Bill Pullman) arrive to do some damage control

The movie begins with FBI agents Elizabeth Anderson (Julia Ormond) and Sam Hallaway (Bill Pullman) arriving at the small, unnamed, town police station. A murder has occurred on the highway and we don’t know the details. All we know is that officer Jack Bennett was there and now his partner Officer Conrad is dead. There’s a little girl named Stephanie (Ryan Simpkins) whose entire family has been killed; a coke addict named Bobbi (played by Pell James) who happened along the scene of the crime with her now-deceased boyfriend Johnny; and two other cops at the station.

Bobbi, hottest cokehead/heroin addict alive

Captain Billings (Michael Ironside) quickly lets the FBI agents take control of the situation, setting up surveillance equipment so that simultaneous interviews with everyone who witnessed the murders can be watched by agent Hallaway. Anderson interviews Stephanie, the two cops take Bobbi, and Billings interrogates Bennett. Hallaway sits in front of his surveillance cameras, monitoring all three concurrant interviews and interjecting via microphone now and then. Occasionally bothered by the station secretary, or by one of the cops coming in for a cup of coffee, Hallaway seems to have his hands full with an unqualified cop whose story doesn’t seem to make sense.

Agent Anderson (Julia Ormond) interviews Stephanie (Ryan Simpkins)

Why its called 'Surveillance'

In Rashomon fashion, each interviewee tells a different story. Only little Stephanie seems to be fairly unbiased in her point of view, though she seems interestingly reluctant to speak to Hallaway or Anderson about the grisly murders she witnessed. Bobbi and Officer Bennett both try to paint themselves in a better light – neither is an angel- but ultimately the two FBI agents get close to the truth. Could the murderer be one of the people in the station already? Could someone be lying about their involvement? I assure you, someone definitely is. And the reasons Hallaway and Anderson have been sent may be completely different than the ones you think.

How on earth does one explain this?

Surveillance has an Agatha Christie-ish appeal, if it does start rather slow and gets to the point a bit late in the game. The gorgeous cinematography involving flat plains landscapes and huge skies plus the completely indie-quirk excellent acting work to counteract Lynch’s inability to move the story along, but the last twenty minutes (including the big ‘reveal’) are an ultimate letdown despite being completely unpredictable. Lynch’s direction regresses back to a Boxing Helena fantasy world where people’s motives are a result of ‘crazy’ and all madness is accompanied by an almost embarrassing show of passion, erotic love, and overacting.

yes, that's Cheri Oteri on the left!

This is probably the best thing French Stewart has ever done – he seems like a real human being for once instead of a semi-retarded creep. Cheri Oteri sometimes lapses into SNL characters, but quickly recovers when faced with serious dialogue requiring some hardcore acting chops. Lynch does get points for not shying away from grisly images (including murdered bodies, straight-on shotgun deaths, and unwanted sexual attention) but she seems to rely too much on cliché when entering uncomfortable areas. Just relax, Jennifer.