- Film Review
- Reviewed By Sloan Freer
-
3 out of 5
A kidnapping goes tragically awry in this rambling crime drama from writer/director Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook). Based on the real-life case of Californian drug dealer Jesse James Hollywood, the film explores how a pack mentality and parental disregard can potentially turn even socially respectable teens wild. Emile Hirsch plays a thinly veiled Hollywood - here renamed Johnny Truelove - a wannabe gangster whose privileged life sours when he abducts a junkie debtor's kid brother (Anton Yelchin) and entrusts him to his right-hand man Frankie (an impressive Justin Timberlake). But what makes this boisterous account particularly compelling is that, instead of being shut away, the youngster is treated to a weekend of outrageous partying. His wide-eyed admiration for his captors is heartbreaking, even while individual events, such as his loss of virginity, are quirkily amusing. It's this emotional dichotomy that gives his eventual fate such an unsettling sting, despite Cassavetes's tendency to dilute the impact with showy visuals and faux-documentary inserts.
Plot Summary
Crime drama based on a true story, starring Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy, Emile Hirsch and Justin Timberlake. LA dope dealer Johnny Truelove decides to teach a junkie debtor a lesson by kidnapping his younger brother, Zack, who's blissfully ignorant of what's going on. Treated as one of the gang, Zack has a great time, but then events take a nasty turn.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Johnny Truelove
- Emile Hirsch
- Frankie Ballenbacher
- Justin Timberlake
- Jake Mazursky
- Ben Foster
- Elvis Schmidt
- Shawn Hatosy
- Zack Mazursky
- Anton Yelchin
- Olivia Mazursky
- Sharon Stone
- Sonny Truelove
- Bruce Willis
- Keith Stratten
- Christopher Marquette
- Buzz Fecske
- Lukas Haas
- Cosmo Gadabeeti
- Harry Dean Stanton
- Susan Hartunian
- Dominique Swain
- Julie Beckley
- Amanda Seyfried
- Tiffy Hartunian
- Alex Kingston
- Alma
- Amber Heard
- Angela Holden
- Olivia Wilde
Crew
- Director
- Nick Cassavetes
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