Film Review: A Violent Separation Shows The Unity of Brothers
You cannot pick your family; this is a fact. Yet, for however much they may screw us up, we love them. We know their hearts and that, within them, lies better intentions than actions. A Violent Separation finds its drama within this dilemma; centering around two brothers that are trying to remember they “love” each other when one commits a heinous accident.
Brenton Thwaites plays Norman Young; a small town officer with a “cub scout” vibe. Immediately, you feel this was the good kid that volunteered to be hall monitor. Yet, his emanation of the “good guy” comes to contrast his brother Ray Young (Ben Robson). Robson plays Ray like the beloved fool; a man that is not so malicious as he is nonsensical. We all know the “one family member” that cannot help but be in a constant “situation,” but the tragedy of Ray is that it is his own foolishness that lands him in trouble.
Sometimes, stupidity can be deadly, especially when playing with guns. Ray, accidentally, shoots his wife, Claire Holt as Abbey Campbell, while trying to take away the gun she was, “playfully,” holding from her hands. It was a pure accident that becomes a heavy, mental burden on Ray because he cannot report it. With his previous record, he knows he will be locked up forever and asks his brother to help him in hiding the crime, which he does. As years go by, both try to remake their lives. Norman begins dating Abbey’s sister, Frances (Alycia Debnam-Carey), whose visible heartbreak adds a ground to the storyline and makes you feel like Abbey is genuinely missed. Meanwhile, Ray cannot seem to clean himself up, which, again, stands against his more trusted brother. Visually, you can feel the warm, Southern small town vibe that fuses the film’s real reason for why the past never sleeps; everyone knows everyone.
Conscious begins to eat at the brothers when an investigation into what really happened to Abbey makes guilt feel intolerable. By all means, the mere description of that premise is intriguing, but you cannot help but want “more” from the film, especially between the brothers. At the heart of A Violent Separation’s plot, lies two very different siblings that cannot seem overcome their varying personalities to heal themselves/ each other. Maybe, I am a sap, but I wanted more scenes of love, camaraderie, and believed loyalty, especially because you walk away from the film feeling like all of it was preventable. Yet, perhaps, that was the point of both directors, Kevin and Michael Goetz, and writer Michael Arkhof. They wanted you to feel like things did not have to turn so dark, particularly, in terms of its surprising ending. A Violent Separation Comes Out In Theaters on May 17.
