bnorthup
12-09-2002, 12:36 PM
Slaughter Rule (PG-13ish) not yet rated
At the Myrna Loy
***(three stars)
Total eclipse of the Heart Butte
By Brent Northup
The Myrna Loy film “Slaughter Rule” should have its videos on sale at the Made In Montana store on Last Chance Gulch. The writer/directors, twin brothers Alex and Andrew Smith, were raised in Potomac, Montana (east of Bonner) and attended Hellgate High School in Missoula. The film was shot near Great Falls in November and December of 2000 when temperatures dipped well below zero during filming. The supporting cast includes a number of Montana people, including Kim DeLong, head of Carroll College’s theater program. And the story focuses on six-man football, a rural Montana tradition.
“Slaughter Rule” has more ambition than it can fulfill in 112 minutes, but it’s always more enjoyable to watch a flawed movie of substance, rather than a slick Hollywood movie that’s hollow at the core.
The story is a complex character study of Roy (Ryan Gosling),a high school boy who’s cut from the football team and Gid (David Morse), a Man With a Past who recruits the boy to be the quarterback on a six-man football team. For both, it’s a mission of redemption.
To its credit, the script prefers subtlety to over-simplification. For example, the final game is not a last-second touchdown victory. We never do get a clear resolution to the “is he or isn’t he” coach sexual orientation issue, and even the boy’s road to maturity is a rocky road best described as a “work in progress.” But the flip side of that praise is that there are so many strings hanging loose that you could make a British wig out of them.
The true star of “Slaughter Rule” is Montana. You gotta love the Heart Butte football game played in frigid temperatures, with below-zero air snorting out the nostrils of the players. The Heart Butte team is cast with many Native Americans and plays tribal drums before the game. Are you smiling yet?
On the sidelines during the games are the trucks, with headlights ready for overtime – and the cold fans huddling inside. Surely, you are smiling now.
Even the bars have an authentic rural Montana feel – this low budget film leaves our state the way it is. There was no extra money available to rebuild our state as a soundstage.
But the budget takes its toll in other ways: the sound is below par, and the film has a Sundance "new director” technical feel that may be endearing to film buffs, but may well annoy filmgoers used to technically polished feature films.
Despite these low budget shortcomings, I ended up liking “Slaughter Rule.” I appreciated the psychological depth, and forgave the rest. The title is a nice touch of poetry: the "slaughter rule" means that a football team must resign after having a ton of points scored against them. The movie tells the tale of not letting life apply the slaughter rule, but fighting back even when the odds are overwhelming. You may not win, but your soul will heal as you strive to rebuild your life.
Most of all, I loved the raw Montana flavor of this movie. It’s so much closer to home than, say, “A River Runs Through It” or “Horse Whisperer,” both of which romanticized our Big Sky lives just a tad.
So buy a loaf of bread from Wheat Montana, put some Flathead Cherry Jam from Bowman’s Orchard on top, then head out to the Myrna Loy for a homegrown Montana movie. Even if it doesn’t make your top 10 list, it is likely to make you proud you live where you do.
END
At the Myrna Loy
***(three stars)
Total eclipse of the Heart Butte
By Brent Northup
The Myrna Loy film “Slaughter Rule” should have its videos on sale at the Made In Montana store on Last Chance Gulch. The writer/directors, twin brothers Alex and Andrew Smith, were raised in Potomac, Montana (east of Bonner) and attended Hellgate High School in Missoula. The film was shot near Great Falls in November and December of 2000 when temperatures dipped well below zero during filming. The supporting cast includes a number of Montana people, including Kim DeLong, head of Carroll College’s theater program. And the story focuses on six-man football, a rural Montana tradition.
“Slaughter Rule” has more ambition than it can fulfill in 112 minutes, but it’s always more enjoyable to watch a flawed movie of substance, rather than a slick Hollywood movie that’s hollow at the core.
The story is a complex character study of Roy (Ryan Gosling),a high school boy who’s cut from the football team and Gid (David Morse), a Man With a Past who recruits the boy to be the quarterback on a six-man football team. For both, it’s a mission of redemption.
To its credit, the script prefers subtlety to over-simplification. For example, the final game is not a last-second touchdown victory. We never do get a clear resolution to the “is he or isn’t he” coach sexual orientation issue, and even the boy’s road to maturity is a rocky road best described as a “work in progress.” But the flip side of that praise is that there are so many strings hanging loose that you could make a British wig out of them.
The true star of “Slaughter Rule” is Montana. You gotta love the Heart Butte football game played in frigid temperatures, with below-zero air snorting out the nostrils of the players. The Heart Butte team is cast with many Native Americans and plays tribal drums before the game. Are you smiling yet?
On the sidelines during the games are the trucks, with headlights ready for overtime – and the cold fans huddling inside. Surely, you are smiling now.
Even the bars have an authentic rural Montana feel – this low budget film leaves our state the way it is. There was no extra money available to rebuild our state as a soundstage.
But the budget takes its toll in other ways: the sound is below par, and the film has a Sundance "new director” technical feel that may be endearing to film buffs, but may well annoy filmgoers used to technically polished feature films.
Despite these low budget shortcomings, I ended up liking “Slaughter Rule.” I appreciated the psychological depth, and forgave the rest. The title is a nice touch of poetry: the "slaughter rule" means that a football team must resign after having a ton of points scored against them. The movie tells the tale of not letting life apply the slaughter rule, but fighting back even when the odds are overwhelming. You may not win, but your soul will heal as you strive to rebuild your life.
Most of all, I loved the raw Montana flavor of this movie. It’s so much closer to home than, say, “A River Runs Through It” or “Horse Whisperer,” both of which romanticized our Big Sky lives just a tad.
So buy a loaf of bread from Wheat Montana, put some Flathead Cherry Jam from Bowman’s Orchard on top, then head out to the Myrna Loy for a homegrown Montana movie. Even if it doesn’t make your top 10 list, it is likely to make you proud you live where you do.
END