PANIC -----
'Ever get the feeling that you're dead?' asks Alex (William H. Macy, "State and Main") at his first appointment with psychologist Dr. Parks (John Ritter, "Sling Blade"). Alex is severely depressed, probably due to the family business he's looking to get out of - contract killing. While he has an amazing relationship with his young son Sammy, (David Dorfman, "Bounce") his marriage to Martha (Tracey Ullman) is at a crossroads when he meets Sarah (Neve Campbell) in Dr. Parks' office in first time writer/director Henry Bromell's "Panic."
LAURA:
"Panic" is one of those heralded little films which played festivals but is having a difficult time getting theatrical release. This could be due to its 'hitman goes to shrink' theme, already covered in "The Sopranos" and "Analyze This," or it could be due to a niche quirkiness that would appeal to an audience willing to overlook its flaws.
"Panic" makes mistteps, but also takes some intriguing side roads, particularly in its unique familial relationships. Alex lies in Sammy's bed every evening and has real conversations with the boy (portrayed as maybe just a bit too precocious). Alex' relationship with his own dad is another matter entirely and is summed up by a flashback of Michael showing the young Alex how to shoot a squirrel with a Walther PPK - something the boy clearly does not wish to do. Mom Diedre (Barbara Bain, TV's "Mission Impossible") acts as a sounding board to Alex' face ('Don't tell Martha - I want this kept private' she's informed by a son who confides in his mother over his wife), yet immediately informs husband Michael of Alex's shrink visits because 'I thought you ought to know.'
The romantic angle, which appears to be a focal point of the story, is left hung out to dry, however. Alex is too much the family man to leave Martha for Sarah and Sarah refuses to be his mistress. A flashback which shows how Alex met Martha is far more interesting than anything that happens with the present day flirtation.
Macy is good as a man torn between his duty to his father and to his son and really makes you feel the chlostrophobic panic of his situation. Donald Sutherland, in the pivotal role of the ruthless Michael, is simply miscast. He's an actor that embodies characters which are patrician, intellectual or bohemian, but just doesn't work as a crass, ruthless breeder of hitmen. He does succeed in one scene, where he accompanies Alex's young brother on his first hit, sending the man off like a kid on a bicycle with training wheels. Barbara Bain shows steely nerve as the mom who's more loyal to her husband's interests than one would expect. Ullman is totally believable as Sammy's mom, the woman who intrigued Alex enough to court and wed her, but is now confused by their marital state. Neve Campbell isn't given much to work with to make Sarah anything but symbolic of a midlife crisis. Dorfman, directed with just a notch more restraint, could have made Sammy one of the best child portrayals of the year.
Once "Panic" lays its groundwork, it's fairly easy to predict where it's going, yet it has enough unique grace notes to make it a worthwhile curiousity. Keep an eye on filmmaker Bromwell.
B-
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