Director: Rick Rosenthal
Cast: Matt O’Leary, Eloise Mumford, Whip Hubley, William Russ.
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 82 minutes
Rick Rosenthal’s latest feature provides an intimate look at war, technology and morality. DRONES succeeds in being a suspenseful drama, despite its minor hiccups. These small hindrances can be overlooked due to the films intense deliberation on the moral subject of drone warfare.
Two Air Force personnel are tasked with deciding the fate of a suspected terrorist. Being trained not to think or speak out of place, a general’s daughter (Eloise Mumford) and her new partner (Matt O’Leary) have some tough decisions to make when civilians threaten the success of their mission. With limited time and knowledge of their target they begin to question their superior’s motives.
The action plays out in real time, the claustrophobic setting adds to the intense drama and confounding decision to sacrifice innocent civilian life to destroy a threat. The film surrounds itself with the conversation of morality and war, the intensity of being contained in a small space provides connectivity to the dilemma the characters on screen face. The main theme isn’t new, war is violent and destructive. But the film contemplates a subject in such intense dialogue that it touches many areas of the struggle that similar films are devoid of.
The one-on-one conversation that dominates the majority of the film could have been exhausting; however Eloise Mumford and Matt O’Leary do well in maintaining the audience’s interest. Mumford and O’Leary are relatively new talents, at times their inexperience does show but they embrace their roles and make an impression.
The only real flaw is that it presents an unlikely scenario in order to explore the complexities of the moral struggles of war. Whilst this is only a minor flaw this can be overlooked as the film provides a valuable discussion in an entertaining and dramatic way. This film may not be for everyone, the style does possess an interesting presentation but the concentrated setting can get tiresome and at some points it is a struggle to stay interested. This is true particularly during the first half hour; the set-up could easily have been condensed, but the drama that follows has you forgive the film’s imperfection. However, the film maintains a good pace thanks to the direction of Rick Rosenthal as well as writer Matt Whitten, with a decent balance of drama and intrigue the films subject helps to grip audiences throughout.
Overall, DRONES is very entertaining with its interesting and thought provoking moral theme. The film keeps you gripped and doesn’t succumb to a predictable and tired expectation, instead you are absorbed into contemplating a complex question that has you revaluate your ethics. DRONES is definitely worth a watch, its minor imperfections are easily ignored in favour for the drama and entertainment the film delivers.
[usr=4] Drones is released on DVD on January 19th.
