The Samaritan (David Weaver, 2012): Canada

Reviewed by Charles Starr Viewed at Santa Barbara Film Festival.

At the opening we are presented with a scared, trembling man, on his knees, bloodied, and begging for forgiveness.  We can only assume, by the sincerity in his look and his tone, that he is also begging for mercy.  Despite his pleas, the gun pointed to his head and the unidentified man wielding it grant him neither.  Such a world of callousness and darkness provide the setting for The Samartian.

Foley (Samuel L. Jackson), a one time criminal, is granted parole after twenty five years in prison and sets to the city streets and his new life with dreams and convictions of living it on the straight and narrow.  He is upfront with his parole officer, he gets a low paying, honest job working construction and modest living arrangements to match.  His aspirations to a clean life however never see fruition when, only days after his release, he is forced back into his old life of crime against his will.  He manages throughout though to maintain his good intentions for the people that deserve fair and decent treatment, in a way living life as a better man than he ever had.

A great idea with some good elements, effective use of music and lighting to set the cool, retro mood of the film, a mildly interesting and somewhat elaborate con near the end and several twists throughout the film (some unforeseen, some not), in some cases would provide for an interesting film.  In the case of The Samaritan, this did not prove true.  More often than not, the dialogue seems contrived and uninspired.  Of most of the performances, Samuel L. Jackson’s aside, the same could be said.  Ethan (Luke Kirby), the up-and-coming crime boss in the city and the man who refuses to leave Foley to his new life, does not manage to be intimidating, though he tries, and cannot command the power necessary for such a role (difficult as that may be next to Mr. Jackson’s strong, base tones and authoritative presence).  The story is indecisive and takes turns from gritty crime drama to love story to con film; while it is certainly possible for all such themes to be incorporated well into one film, The Samaritan does not manage to pull it off gracefully.

What the film does do very well is create the perfect world in which such characters and such stories would exist.  The downtrodden, weathered city is reminiscent of Detroit on a bad day- unkempt brick buildings, streets unappealing and abandoned, and in a constant cloak of night, or if not night, heavy clouds that keep even the day from feeling like anything other than night.  The film makes it easy to believe that in such a place, surely the people will start to mock their surroundings.  The characters are cold and closed off, they have shut out any form of light or joy in their lives and do not question it but merely go about their days knowing that this is what life is.  When one of them, Foley, attempts to change this, attempts to go about life differently, not only is he unsuccessful but he suffers for it.

In a sea of excellent noir thrillers, The Samaritan, despite its best efforts, goes out with a whimper and not a bang.