Frailty
 (2001)
review by Head Cheeze

What do you do when everything you've ever known gets swept out from under you in the matter of an evening and replaced with a horrifying new reality that tests not only your faith in yourself, but in everyone you've ever loved? Frailty, a film from actor/director Bill Paxton, poses that question with particularly chilling results.

Fenton Meeks (McConaughey) knows the identity of the God's Hand Killer, a murderer who exacts God's revenge upon his victims on his behalf. Fenton is sure that the killer is his brother, Adam, and he intends to prove that to FBI Agent Wesley Doyle (Boothe) with a little walk down memory lane. When Fenton and Adam (Matthew O'Leary and Jeremey Sumpter) were young boys growing up with their widowed dad, Fenton witnessed his father's gradual descent into madness after he was "visited by an angel" with orders to kill demons on Earth for God. Dad (Paxton) tells his children that they were chosen as "God's Hand" and had a duty to carry out his wishes. The older Fenton thinks his father's insane, while Adam believes his dad and assists him in his newfound calling. Now, over twenty years later Adam is carrying on his father's work. Or is he?

Frailty is an especially tense and very well paced thriller with outstanding performances from the cast, especially director/star Paxton and Matthew O'Leary as the haunted young Fenton Meeks. The fear and confusion that fill Fenton's final days with his father is completely authentic feeling, and literally filled me with dread for the character. Not since Haley Joel Osment's turn in The Sixth Sense have I seen a young actor command the screen with such authority, and it's a credit to first time director, Paxton, who guides his cast through this mesmerizing tale with a veteran's surehandedness. Paxton, himself, turns in his finest performance since the underrated One False Move, showing that his day job didn't suffer from his behind the scenes moonlighting. His performance as the loving yet completely insane elder Meeks draws both fear of and sympathy for the character. The rest of the cast is just as solid, with McConaughey serving as the narrative force of the picture, as well as the glue that holds Brent Hanley's complex story together. As good as the performances are, the film looks even better, with loads of atmosphere and beautifully lush visuals courtesy of veteran cinematographer Bill Butler.

Lion's Gate DVD release features a gorgeous widescreen anamorphic transfer that is true to the film's dark visual style, as well as a rich 5.1 Dolby mix. Special features include three commentaries; one with director Paxton, one with writer Hanley, and one with the production crew, as well as the Sundance Channel featurette, Anatomy of a Scene, a making of documentary, deleted scenes, stills gallery, and more.

Frailty is a very disturbing and dark thriller that just doesn't feel like Hollywood fare at all. It's violent, relentless, and absolutely pulls no punches, and is easily one of the best DVD releases of 2002.

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