"Heavy and cluttered."
Scott Eastwood stars as a surfer-turned-Marine in a drama thriller by Daniel Petrie Jr. Combining themes about racism, violence, relationships and redemption, Dawn Patrol is the story of a close-knit family shaken by an unfortunate accident and the one man who holds the guilt until the end.
John (Eastwood) and his little brother Ben (Chris Brochu)
are surf enthusiasts who are still living at home with their protective parents
Trick (John Fahey) and Sheila (Rita Wilson). In Ventura County where there are
still racial tensions between Latinos and white surfers, the brothers are
constantly looking out at each other’s back. So it happens that Ben’s
ex-girlfriend Donna (Kim Matula) is dating a Latino. But when Ben proposes to
her while in the process of raping her at the same time, Donna quickly accepts
and a chain of misfortune befalls on the family.
Ben is found dead on the beach. Donna, appearing to have not
cared at all, turns on John and seduces him. Trick and Shiela are distraught and
intent on avenging the death of their younger son. John, proving his worth as
son and brother, murders the wrong man. He tries to run away from his guilt by
enlisting as a Marine officer. But his conscience continues to haunt him and
the only way to freedom is to confess the truth. And when he does so, a more
terrifying ghost will haunt him forever.
Dawn Patrol is
messy and staggering. It is multi-thematic, dealing with subjects on family, xenophobia,
revenge, forgiveness, liberation, surfing and so much more. It tries to
encompass a lot of things but fail to bring that solid, tight and coherent grip.
Its opening is quite promising – we see John in army suits and broken arm being
led to a desert, waiting for his possible execution. To stall time, he tells
his story and the rest of the movie becomes a flashback, back to the events of
summer 2008. It is tricky as that prologue truly captures and keeps our
attention.
However, the remainder of the film becomes a jumble of
random events as the past, present and future of the past are not beautifully
intertwined and sequenced. Though the story has clearly evolved, it has several
elements that are unconvincing and unbelievable. For one, Donna’s character is exaggerated
beyond logic – girlfriend to all, accepting proposal during mid-rape, fucking
the brother of the person she kills and many more bitchiness. All hell broke
loose because of what she did and John murders an innocent person. But when he
tells his victim’s mother about the truth, the latter, instead of sending him to
prison, opts to banish him away and kill him instead on a day that John is
bliss and has reasons for living. As she puts it, “My revenge can wait forever.”
This ghost follows John and even after he has a family of his own (end scene),
the image of the mother shooting him taunts him. It just does not make sense
that John and his loved ones are still living in Ventura County despite the
scary threat.
There are still some good moments in the movie, like the father
and sons bonding and the sense of freedom projected in surfing. However, the
movie has such poor dialogues that it takes effort to engage with the
characters at each point. Eastwood as the lead role is not that helpful. He is
mostly stiff and forced. His good looks may have been a disadvantage this time
as he appears like a boy acting out a part. He shows promise though and maybe
with constant practice, he can deliver a more appealing performance in his future
films. Fahey and Wilson, however, are remarkable as parents who would do
everything for their children. They provide that much needed drama and tension
in the movie.
In general, Dawn Patrol feels like wanting to tell
a complicated story, twisted by unrealistic characters, but ends up confusing it
more. It is sad and depressing, and the flashback strategy, poor script and severe
direction only worsen it.
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