Forfeit (film)

Last updated

Forfeit
Directed byAndrew Shea
Written by John Rafter Lee
Produced bySherri James
John Rafter Lee
Andrew Shea
Carol Anne Shine
Starring
CinematographyRoberto 'Tito' Blasini
Edited byMelissa Shea
Music byAndrew Gross
Production
company
Corndog Productions
Release date
  • March 9, 2007 (2007-03-09)(South by Southwest Film Festival)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Forfeit is a 2007 American mystery thriller film directed by Andrew Shea, starring Billy Burke, Sherry Stringfield, John Aylward and Gregory Itzin.

Contents

Cast

Plot

Frank O'Neal did something terrible when he was young, but he seems to be a changed man. He is back in the old neighborhood after 18 years, has a steady job as a security guard for an armored car company and he wants the love of his life to give him a second chance. She suffered more than anyone from what he did, but she has never got over him and maybe she still has a chance of happiness. She would have second thoughts if she knew about his obsession with his roommate's height, that he spends every waking moment yelling at one particular television preacher and that he is planning to rob the armored car company of every penny in its vault.

Reception

Forfeit was premiered at the SXSW Film Festival and appeared at numerous other festivals including the Brooklyn International Film Festival, the Palm Beach International Film Festival, the Breckenridge Festival of Film, the Sedona International Film Festival, the Flint Film Festival, Filmfest Hamburg (international premiere), the Edmonton International Film Festival, Starz Denver Film Festival, the Northampton Independent Film Festival and the Santa Fe Film Festival.

Jeremy Martin of the The Austin Chronicle wrote, "With its plot twists – some of which are pretty smart – plus its religious commentary, creative editing, and casting of Newman from Seinfeld, it's worth more than most films in the mystery-crime genre." [1] LA Weekly wrote that while Burke "manages to make his character's confusion weirdly resonant", Shea "can't seem to decide if he's making a thriller, a boozy blue-collar melodrama or a religious parable", and the film "ends up as a muddled mix of all three". [2]

Justin Chang of Variety praised Burke's performance, calling it "decently sustained", and wrote that while the film "doesn't overstay its welcome", it is an "overworked revenge thriller that's all setup and little payoff". [3] Lawrence Wang of Film Threat wrote that "just past the half-way point of the movie, the pacing of the movie begins to really pick-up as the scenes are directed with more confidence and style and I found myself getting really engaged", but that the film "suffered from an overqualified cast and an unfocused script and director". [4] Popsyndicate.com gave the film four stars and concluded that "as a modern morality tale wrapped in the noir, Forfeit delivers". It added, "For the USA Festival, it is a highlight film."[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

Sherry Lea Stringfield is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Dr. Susan Lewis on the NBC medical drama ER, a role for which she received three Emmy Award nominations. Stringfield was a member of ER's original cast, but she quit the show during its third season, despite being contractually tied to appear in five. She returned to the role in 2001, and quit once again in 2005. She is also known for her regular roles on NYPD Blue and Guiding Light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Berg</span> American actor and director

Peter Berg is an American director, producer, writer, and actor. His directorial film works include the black comedy Very Bad Things (1998), the action comedy The Rundown (2003), the sports drama Friday Night Lights (2004), the action thriller The Kingdom (2007), the superhero comedy-drama Hancock (2008), the military science fiction war film Battleship (2012), the war film Lone Survivor (2013), the disaster drama Deepwater Horizon (2016), the Boston Marathon bombing drama Patriots Day (2016), the action thriller Mile 22 (2018), and the action comedy Spenser Confidential (2020), the latter five all starring Mark Wahlberg. In addition to cameo appearances in the last six of these titles, he has had prominent acting roles in films including Never on Tuesday (1989), Shocker (1989), The Last Seduction (1994), The Great White Hype (1996), Cop Land (1997), Corky Romano (2001), Collateral (2004), Smokin' Aces (2006), and Lions for Lambs (2007).

<i>Inland Empire</i> (film) 2006 film by David Lynch

Inland Empire is a 2006 experimental psychological thriller film written, directed and co-produced by David Lynch. As of 2024, it is the last feature film Lynch has directed, marking his longest hiatus between film projects. The film's cinematography, editing, score and sound design were also by Lynch, with pieces by a variety of other musicians also featured. Lynch's longtime collaborator and then-wife Mary Sweeney co-produced the film. The cast includes such Lynch regulars as Laura Dern, Justin Theroux, Harry Dean Stanton, and Grace Zabriskie, as well as Jeremy Irons, Karolina Gruszka, Peter J. Lucas, Krzysztof Majchrzak, and Julia Ormond. There are also brief appearances by a host of additional actors, including Nastassja Kinski, Laura Harring, Terry Crews, Mary Steenburgen, and William H. Macy. The voices of Harring, Naomi Watts, and Scott Coffey are included in excerpts from Lynch's 2002 Rabbits online project. The title borrows its name from a metropolitan area in Southern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Liman</span> American film director and producer

Douglas Eric Liman is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing the films Swingers (1996), Go (1999), The Bourne Identity (2002), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Jumper (2008), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), and American Made (2017).

<i>Steel</i> (1997 film) Superhero film by Kenneth Johnson

Steel is a 1997 American superhero film loosely based on the DC Comics character of the same name. The film stars Shaquille O'Neal as John Henry Irons and his alter-ego Steel, Annabeth Gish as his wheelchair-using partner Susan Sparks, and Judd Nelson as their rival Nathaniel Burke. The plot centers on an accident caused by Burke which leaves Sparks paralyzed. The accident results in Irons quitting his job. Burke begins mass-producing weapons and selling them to criminals. In order to stop Burke, Irons and Sparks create a suit of armor that leads Irons to become the superhero Steel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory Itzin</span> American actor (1948–2022)

Gregory Martin Itzin was an American character actor of film and television best known for his role as U.S. President Charles Logan in the action thriller series 24.

<i>Death Sentence</i> (2007 film) 2007 film by James Wan

Death Sentence is a 2007 American vigilante action thriller film directed by James Wan and starring Kevin Bacon as Nick Hume, a man who takes the law into his own hands after his son is murdered by a gang member as an initiation ritual; Hume must then protect his family from the gang's resulting vengeance. The film is loosely based on the 1975 novel of the same name by Brian Garfield; although the novel is a sequel to Garfield's Death Wish, the film is unconnected to the previous Death Wish film series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dougie Brimson</span>

Douglas Brimson is an English film producer, screenwriter and author best known for penning the multi-award-winning feature, Green Street. To date, he has written 17 books including the classic study of hooliganism, Everywhere We Go: Behind the Matchday Madness and the football gangland trilogy, The Crew, Top Dog and In The Know.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shea Whigham</span> American actor (born 1969)

Shea Whigham is an American actor best known for portraying Elias "Eli" Thompson in the drama series Boardwalk Empire. He also appeared in the first season of True Detective and the third season of Fargo and in numerous films, including Wristcutters: A Love Story, Take Shelter, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, The Wolf of Wall Street, Kong: Skull Island, First Man, Vice, Joker, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. He has appeared as Agent Michael Stasiak in Fast & Furious, Fast & Furious 6, and F9.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feodor Chin</span> American actor, producer, director and writer

Feodor Chin is an American actor, writer, and comedian from San Francisco, CA. As an actor, he was classically trained at UCLA, the American Conservatory Theater, and has studied with renowned acting coach, Larry Moss. He was a Maude Night performer at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre for three seasons. TV credits include Big Little Lies, Good Trouble, American Auto, Pam & Tommy, Medical Police, Lethal Weapon, Jane the Virgin, The Affair, Speechless, and New Girl. Animation credits include the title role in Netflix's Uncle from Another World, Futurama, Marvel's Hit-Monkey and What If...?, and Cartoon Network's Regular Show. He is the voice of Zenyatta and Lee Sin in the hit video games, Overwatch / Overwatch 2 and League of Legends. He was a performer for the ABC Discovers Talent Showcase and a writer for the CBS Diversity Comedy Showcase.

<i>The East</i> (2013 film) 2013 film

The East is a 2013 thriller film directed by Zal Batmanglij and starring Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgård, and Elliot Page. Writers Batmanglij and Marling spent two months in 2009 practicing freeganism and co-wrote a screenplay inspired by their experiences and drawing on thrillers from the 1970s. The American studio Fox Searchlight Pictures had bought rights to distribute Batmanglij's previous film Sound of My Voice and also collaborated with the director to produce The East. With Ridley Scott as producer and Tony Scott as executive producer, Fox Searchlight contracted Scott Free Productions, headquartered in London, to produce the film. The East was filmed in two months in Shreveport, Louisiana at the end of 2011. The film premiered to strong reviews at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2013. It was released in theaters on May 31, 2013.

<i>13 Sins</i> 2014 film

13 Sins is a 2014 American horror-thriller film directed by Daniel Stamm. The film is a remake of the 2006 Thai comedy horror film 13 Beloved. Mark Webber stars as Elliot, a meek salesman who accepts a series of increasingly disturbing and criminal challenges. It premiered at the 2014 SXSW film festival and was released theatrically in the United States on April 18, 2014. This was the final film appearance of George Coe before his death in 2015.

<i>Before I Disappear</i> 2014 film

Before I Disappear is a 2014 American drama film directed by Shawn Christensen. The film is a feature-length adaptation of his 2012 Oscar-winning short film, Curfew. The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest Film on March 10, 2014. The film was acquired for distribution by IFC Films on August 5, 2014, and released on November 28, 2014.

<i>The Invitation</i> (2015 film) 2015 American film

The Invitation is a 2015 American horror thriller film directed by Karyn Kusama and written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, starring Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, Michiel Huisman and Emayatzy Corinealdi. It premiered March 13, 2015 at the SXSW film festival and began a limited release on April 8, 2016, and through video on demand, by Drafthouse Films.

<i>Krisha</i> 2015 American film

Krisha is a 2015 American drama film written and directed by Trey Edward Shults in his feature-length directorial debut, starring his real-life aunt Krisha Fairchild, and is the feature-length adaption of the 2014 short film Krisha also directed by Shults.

<i>Burning</i> (2018 film) 2018 film by Lee Chang-dong

Burning is a 2018 South Korean-Japanese psychological thriller film co-written, produced, and directed by Lee Chang-dong. The film is based on the short story "Barn Burning" from The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami, with elements inspired by William Faulkner's story of the same name. It stars Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, and Jeon Jong-seo. The plot depicts a young deliveryman, Jong-su (Yoo), who runs into his childhood friend, Hae-mi (Jeon). They soon meet an enigmatic young man named Ben (Yeun), whom Jong-su becomes suspicious of, and he begins to believe Hae-mi is in danger.

<i>An Elephant Sitting Still</i> 2018 film

An Elephant Sitting Still is a 2018 Chinese drama film written, directed and edited by Hu Bo. The first and only feature film by the novelist-turned-director Hu, who died by suicide soon after finishing his film on 12 October 2017 at the age of 29, it is based on a story with the same title from his 2017 novel Huge Crack, about four people who travel to a northern Chinese city to see the eponymous elephant. It made its world premiere in the Forum section of the 68th Berlin International Film Festival. The film has won acclaim from established directors such as Béla Tarr, Wang Bing, Ang Lee, and Gus Van Sant.

<i>I See You</i> (2019 film) Film directed by Adam Randall

I See You is a 2019 American crime horror thriller film directed by Adam Randall from a screenplay by Devon Graye. It stars Helen Hunt, Jon Tenney, and Judah Lewis.

<i>Monolith</i> (2022 film) 2022 Australian film

Monolith is a 2022 Australian science-fiction thriller film directed by Matt Vesely from a script written by Lucy Campbell, and produced by Bettina Hamilton. Described as high-concept science fiction, it stars Lily Sullivan, the only on-screen actor in the film, as a journalist uncovering a mystery.

References

  1. Martin, Jeremy (March 16, 2007). "SXSW Film Review: Forfeit". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  2. "MOVIE REVIEWS: BADLAND, DIVINE INTERVENTION, FORFEIT, HE WAS A QUIET MAN". LA Weekly . November 28, 2007. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  3. Chang, Justin (November 27, 2007). "Forfeit". Variety . Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  4. Wang, Lawrence (November 3, 2008). "FORFEIT (DVD)". Film Threat . Retrieved October 4, 2022.