Southland Tales

Southland Tales

A film review by: David Ramirez

★★/★★★★

This movie cannot be summarized or explained easily so I will provide my impressions of this strangely fascinating movie. Set during the election season of 2008, Southland Tales proposes a series of apparently linked events: the reappearance of a vanished movie star (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), now an amnesiac; the bizarre doubling of a policeman (Sean William Scott in two roles); the development of an energy source from ocean waves; and the presence of an Iraq War veteran (Justin Timberlake) who seems to be watching everything, and narrating some of it.

There is a lot of social commentary in this film that comes at you in many different ways from the narration of Justin Timberlake, to the reoccurring news breaks, to a TV commercial I can only describe as strange at best. The social commentary is very interesting since it doesn’t come across as "preachy" but rather insightful. It touches on everything from the war in the Middle East, to oil cost and even alternative fuel sources.

The actors in the film do a very good job especially Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson who makes a drastic departure from the tough guy action roles he often plays. As the amnesiac Boxer Santoros, Johnson is the type-A actor who believes his performance will change the world, and in this case maybe he will truly change the world. He really shows his acting range in this film and I think if he wasn’t stuck with the stigma of being the tough guy he could play more serious roles.

We also find Sean William Scott, Mandy Moore and many other Saturday Night Live alum and other straight to video actors round out the cast. The acting in the film is solid and the actors are very convincing in their roles. The problem is that the confusing twist and turns take away from the actor’s performances.

Southland Tales is not a movie for everyone and to be more blunt most people will not enjoy it. If you are brave enough to watch this film than you must check everything at the door and watch it with a completely open mind. If after watching the trailer you begin over thinking it than skip it because you will not enjoy it.