They say people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. But in this thriller, a glass house becomes a glass prison where two couples, off to have a romantic weekend in Lake Tahoe, meet up with a motorcycle gang led by a guy with a different agenda.
Laz Alonso (Avatar, Detroit) told us in our interview that he didn’t know much about sex trafficking before making this movie, but he does now. Alonzo, said he learned a lot about it, and about filmmaking, working with Writer/Director Deon Taylor. Taylor said he picked up on press clippings about sex trafficking and found a woman who was in the trade and got out of it. She became his consultant on set.
Taylor wanted this film to be big. The production looks good considering he was working on a just a $5 million budget. It’s slow going for the first 40 minutes setting up the characters and their relationships. John, (Omar Epps – Shooter TV Series, Resurrection), and Brea (Paula Patton- The Perfect Match, About Last Night, Jumping the Broom) are best friends with fast talking, slick sports agent, Darren Cole (Laz Alonzo –Avatar, Detroit) and his girlfriend, Malia, (Rosalyn Sanchez – Act of Valor, TVs Devious Maids). Brea has just lost her job as a journalist in Sacramento and John, a mechanic, gives her a souped up car he rebuilt to make her feel better.
Cole, known as the “negotiator,” talks them into taking the keys to his gorgeous, romantic, mountain-top mansion for a romantic weekend alone so John can propose to Brea. John and Brea are having fun driving up to the place in the new car, but there are just too many silly scenes taking too long as they’re being cute with each other. We asked if Paula was actually driving when they shot those scenes and were relieved to find out she was not in control of the car. She barely kept her eyes on the road! We told the director we would never get in a car with her because it made us way too nervous. We were waiting for them to crash and prematurely end the movie.
Our Full Interview with Actor Las Alonso and Writer/Director, Deon Taylor
On the way when John and Brea stop for gas at a truck stop where they both get taunted by a motorcycle gang. Unfortunately, the gang is pretty stereotypical. White men with frazzled hair in leather jackets who look and act mean. They ogle Patton, who bares a lot of skin, we thought way too much unnecessarily, throughout this film, and they pick a fight with John. The people inside the station act strangely. Patton plays happy, then curious, then serious when she meets a weird woman, named Cara, (Dawn Olivieri), in the restroom who seems to be reaching out for help. When she and John decide to get out of there, they almost get run off the road by one of the motorcycle goons. Taylor told us that Epps really got into actually doing a lot of the driving in the chase scene which ended pretty predictably. But Epps is someone we would definitely drive with.
Still shaken, the couple finally arrives at their posh destination. There are big, beautiful vistas along the way and exquisite views followed by lots of love making. Unfortunately, the Negotiator/Friend, Darren shows up with Malia to interrupt the couple’s romantic setting.
When the weird woman who sought help shows up at their door, the whole tenor of the film changes. She’s come to retrieve a phone she planted in Brea’s purse at the gas station which is a clue and the key to whats really going on. Director Taylor says he wrote the plot based on true events he gathered from press clippings and from his consultant on sex trafficking. From here on it gets scary and violent, but also, we didn’t think entirely realistic.
By the time our couples figure it out, the bad guy, lead by ringleader, Wainright (William Fichtner –12 Strong, TV’s Empire), move in. Darren, the Negotiator, gets involved. The cat and mouse game has begun and so has the brutality. There are some surprises as to who does what to whom and the results. It becomes evident that taking the ladies as part of an international sex traffic ring is the goal.
The action builds and gets more and more tense. Taylor told us that he worked with cinematographer, Dante Spinotti (Tower Heist, Public Enemy) to make his shots tighter and show the characters in smaller and smaller spaces as the movie went on. He wanted to show how it became more confining as the traffickers move in on their female targets rendering them helpless.
A couple of things bothered us. Even though there was bad cellular reception and connectivity up in them thar hills, we would think there would be some kind of home alarm system in place, even to the fire department, no matter how useless the police may have been. Also, Patton, who is patently stunning, is half clothed in too many situations where we think she would have wanted to cover up more for modestly and protection. Her instincts didn’t seem natural. But Taylor also told us in our interview that Patton took issue with the script for being too “in your face” and wanted to ease into it, not necessarily tone it down. Taylor also introduced secrets revealed about the couples’ relationships we didn’t think added that much to the story.
Taylor has put together what he calls “a new kind of film noir.” He shines a spotlight on violence against women could become victims of modern day slavery. In this Year of the Woman, Paula Patton plays a strong female standing up against this frightening brutality. We give credit for Taylor creating a film dealing with this important issue.
Lionsgate 1 hour 36 minutes R
