Image Credit: Historia Films
Acting, writing, directing, and producing, Miles Doleac does it all. Back in 2014 he directed his first film “The Historian,” which earned mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. Well Miles is at it again, both directing and playing a main character in his newest film, The Hollow.
Set in a small Mississippi town, both local law enforcement and a team of F.B.I agents find themselves at crossroads as they investigate a mysterious and violent triple homicide with one of the victims being the daughter of a congressman. Tension builds as the corrupt Deputy Ray Everett (Miles Doleac) tries to cover up his involvement with the murder and his identity as the town’s drug dealer, all while dealing with unstable F.B.I agent Vaughn Killinger (James Callis) and his partner Sarah Desoto (Christiane Seidel), who have limited time and resources to wrap up the investigation. Special agents Killinger and Desoto soon discover things are not as they might seem as locals refuse to cooperate unless instructed by the town’s kingpin-like figure, Big John Dawson (William Forsythe).
The Hollow gives us a unique twist on law enforcement and small town politics, which would make for a great literary piece, but does it have what it takes to cut it on the big screen?
Unfortunately The Hollow fails to follow through with a storyline that could have made for an excellent film. It instead comes off feeling forced, loaded with plot holes, unfocused transitions, and characters that the audience will have a hard time relating to.
Image Credit: Historia Films
The biggest problem with The Hollow is that nearly everything seems unnaturally forced. Right off the bat we are introduced to characters whose moral statuses are much too obvious. There is almost no blur on these characters moral standing, they are either good or they are bad and remain static throughout the entire 2 hours of the film. The choices these characters make are often over-exaggerated and seem phony. The passive-aggressive dialog between these one-dimensional characters is many times drawn out and unfocused. Characters are thrown in with no introduction and reference events that seem important but have little to no explanation to support them, leaving us wondering why they are relevant to the story at all. Even the transitions come off as unnecessary and don’t really help piece the story together and feel unnatural.
Image Credit: Historia Films
With all that being said, there are many redeeming qualities to this film. The Hollow does an excellent job of portraying strong female protagonists. Much of the film is carried by F.B.I agent Desoto, whose outstanding performance has us understanding what she is going through despite a lack of background explanation. Another positive aspect of the film is the beautiful cinematography, making you feel as though you are standing in the rural south.
Overall, The Hollow is a southern neo-noir drama that has some solid characters and unique take on the relationship between local and federal law enforcement. The slow pace of the plot consists of scenes and dialog that seem forced and often irrelevant, giving you time to predict the direction of the film yet offering little to no explanation as to the reasoning behind that direction. The Hollows had a lot of potential, but fails to live up to that expectation.
from Nerd Reactor
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