Perhaps with childish naivety, I used to believe that Uwe Boll's trademark reputation is actually an effect of a very conscious manipulation. I hoped that one day he would emerge, like a stunning butterfly, from a cocoon of abysmal effort that did nothing but ruined countless video game franchises for their fans across the globe. Stoic and following it Rampage and Darfur (all three made in 2009) were to change prevailing opinion about Boll's lack of talent and test his skill in a more serious context. The first of them- a gritty prison drama, is far from the lows set by i.e. Alone in the Dark (2005) but is it sufficiently competent to redeem Boll? Supposedly based on facts- but in fact difficult to verify, Stoic is restricted to the space of one cell and a tragedy that plays out within it, between four cell-mates. Film is divided into interviews with three of them in the aftermath of their cell-mate's suicide death and footage that leads to this incident. Both unfold together, slowly revealing the true nature of the tragedy and each prisoner's role in it.
Although structure allows for interesting escalation of both guilt and violence it is in no way reminiscent of Rashomon (1950) and Boll remains objective as to what we see leaving no questions about intentions of the violators. Extended from merely a treatment, film is filled with improvised rant that fails to capture the true essence of this story. All three aggressors come across unnaturally and their solid performances are wasted on an aimless direction that resorts to their monologue every time the narrative runs out of steam.
In the end 80 minutes long feature is carried forward by several acts of brutality that turn to be disturbingly engrossing beats sustaining the collapsing tension. Stoic aims to be gritty and realist but lacks focus and talent to achieve these qualities. What materialises on the screen is a bore- repetitive and at times moronic dialogue and an apparent agenda that packs a punch but misses its target by miles. It fails to shock because it lacks any competently realised context for its content.
Verdict: It's better than any of the countless video-game adaptations that Boll unleashed in his fury upon the world. But even still it is stagy, amateurish film-making that makes a point by showing brutal, animalistic behaviour but lacks either will or talent to turn it into anything relevant. There is simply no reward in enduring the violence for its sake and no interesting insight into why it was committed, beyond the obvious capacity for it that we all share. We come already equipped in that knowledge, Stoic does nothing that we wouldn't already know.
Although structure allows for interesting escalation of both guilt and violence it is in no way reminiscent of Rashomon (1950) and Boll remains objective as to what we see leaving no questions about intentions of the violators. Extended from merely a treatment, film is filled with improvised rant that fails to capture the true essence of this story. All three aggressors come across unnaturally and their solid performances are wasted on an aimless direction that resorts to their monologue every time the narrative runs out of steam.
In the end 80 minutes long feature is carried forward by several acts of brutality that turn to be disturbingly engrossing beats sustaining the collapsing tension. Stoic aims to be gritty and realist but lacks focus and talent to achieve these qualities. What materialises on the screen is a bore- repetitive and at times moronic dialogue and an apparent agenda that packs a punch but misses its target by miles. It fails to shock because it lacks any competently realised context for its content.
Verdict: It's better than any of the countless video-game adaptations that Boll unleashed in his fury upon the world. But even still it is stagy, amateurish film-making that makes a point by showing brutal, animalistic behaviour but lacks either will or talent to turn it into anything relevant. There is simply no reward in enduring the violence for its sake and no interesting insight into why it was committed, beyond the obvious capacity for it that we all share. We come already equipped in that knowledge, Stoic does nothing that we wouldn't already know.