Havoc

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Bijou Phillips, Shiri Appleby, Michael Biehn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Freddy Rodriguez, Mike Vogel, Channing Tatum
Directed by: Barbara Kopple
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
2005

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary: A group of wealthy teens try to live the "gangsta" lifestyle, but they soon realize the lifestyle is far less glamorous and more dangerous than they previously imagined.

Review:

Tim: I feel as if there was a lesson to be learned in this movie, but I’m not quite sure what it is. Is it, “don’t play dangerous games when you’re bored?” “Don’t pretend to be something you’re not?” Honestly, I’m not exactly sure, and I don’t particularly care to find out. In fact, the movie feels like one big attempt to shock and provoke you. I feel certain that is why Anne Hathaway agreed to the role—it is about as far from The Princess Diaries as you can possibly get.

This is a movie about youth—and about the strange desire of the young to throw away possibility, innocence, and opportunity. We see gifted and fortunate teens pretending to be hard, dangerous, and destructive. This obviously is met with unintended—and frightening—consequences. In that aspect, I suppose the movie deserves credit for showing high schoolers in their occasionally stupid light.

Anne Hathaway is a talented actress, so she does bring some respect to the film. I’m not sure why she decided to push herself like this, but it certainly breaks her out of being typecast. I don’t like Bijou Phillips at all, and her awful performance here only further cemented that belief. Freddy Rodriguez gives perhaps the film’s best performance. It is edgy and believable. Shiri Appleby was far too underutilized, but she doesn’t seem to watch the edgy, provocative role that her costars signed on for. Joseph Gordon-Levitt seems to be giving his performance his all, but he is silly and sadly, forgettable.

Havoc actually could have been something. However, the film has far, far too much wrong with it. It ends up looking silly, being scandalous simply for the sake of being scandalous. Like the film’s protagonists, it feels as if it was made because someone was bored—and all logic or desire for success and goodness is thrown right out the window. I can’t see recommending this movie to anyone, no matter who you are.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Brokeback Mountain, The Devil Wears Prada, Haven