The Kill Hole (Mischa Webley, 2011): USA

Reviewed by Tyler Rowland.  Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

In director Mischa Webley’s feature debut, The Kill Hole, premiering at the SBIFF, gives the audience a unique perspective of looking inside the minds of war torn veterans.  This can transcend decades, generations, and wars, but Wembley’s main focus is on two soldiers who served in Iraq who are now home, but fighting a war on another front.  This is a war against their own despair, regret, and guilt.  Also in his feature debut, up and coming actor Chadwick Boseman plays Drake, a ravaged soul dwelling upon the atrocities of war he not only committed, but spearheaded, during his stint with the USMC.  Drake is summoned through his former command leaders that there is a witness of the incident who is disturbed enough as to not return to civilian life.  This witness just happens to be a fellow Marine, Carter (Tory Kittles- Get Rich or Die Tryin’, Miracle at St. Anna), who, after the incident, has never emotionally recovered from the lack of humanity he saw during the raid of the village.  Threatening to expose these actions, the command insists that Carter be eliminated.  This proposition changes Drake from marine to mercenary proposition.  Billy Zane (Sniper, Titanic) gives a great supporting performance as the coordinator to a group of vets suffering post traumatic stress due to the events they either witnessed or took part in during their wartime experiences.  The use of actual combat veterans adds a unique and sincere angle to the storyline.

This film follows the classic good versus evil format, with intentions overshadowed by actions.  Well written and spoken voice over acts as a poetic medium revealing mid bending analogies and deep thought metaphors.  These work in conjunction with the alternating backdrops of the suffocating life in Portland and the serene natural environment offered by the Pacific Northwest.  The audience experiences a seamless transition between the strangling city life in which Drake attempts to disappear into and the vast expanse of the wilderness that Carter openly hides in.  A clash in the wilderness ensues and survival is the name of the game, but who wants to live with what they have seen?

As with any war movie questions will be raised about the motivation to write such a script.  The linear storyline is riddled with flashbacks that intrigue more than explain.  The continual progression of the plot moves quickly at times, but slows down just enough to reflect the emotional disturbances of the characters.  The musical score consists mainly of slow instrumental compositions.  These serve as both a soothing element from the intensity of the characters’ emotions and as intensification for the viewer, depending on the use of camera.  Tight and low camera angles, used in conjunction with a slightly unstable handheld camera show the intensity of the emotion tormenting the characters.  The reflection of city life for Drake is put into perspective by the night and the manner in which the lights are strategically used reveals a dark illumination that can be felt as well as seen .  The landscape Carter is submersed in begins with sunrise as we see shadows dance along the terrain.  The use of light and shadow reflect noir style cinematography.  The characters’ attempts of making peace through meditation juxtaposed with the flashbacks create an ever increasing building tension.  The only breaks from the troubled minds is a bleak sense of humor in addition to timely sarcasm.

I recommend The Kill Hole combines dramatically written dialogue, spot on acting, stunning visual cinematic technique, and a musical score that mesh perfectly together to create a film that will not only entertain, but summon emotion to the audience.  This is a very coherent film regardless of a few twists and seemingly unexplained flashbacks, the plot is still very easy to follow, just allow the movie run its course.  The psychological elements makes The Kill Hole a compelling and entertaining film that should not disappoint.