“A nasty but satisfying story about two distraught men whose
fate are intertwined.”
A merciless hitman and an invincible suicidal are the
antiheroes of The Suicide Theory, a
drama mixed with black comedy from Australian director Dru Brown. In this
fast-paced tight thriller, one’s desire for death becomes another’s ticket to
redemption and liberation. But in some form of predestination, their lives are
entangled in more ways than they have realized.
The film opens intensely with Steven Ray (Steve Mouzakis)
murdering a man who had interrupted his conversation with a salesman earlier.
In fact, Steven is a vicious and impenitent contract killer. He does his job
cleanly, leaving no witnesses unaccounted for. Three years later, he meets an
unusually intriguing client.
Percival Wills (Leon Cain) is a man who badly wants to die,
evident with the strange scars on his face. Chubby and gay, he believes he is
cursed. His attempted suicides are failures as he always end up in the hospital
bed with the doctor saying, “You’re lucky to be alive.” His fate changes when
he jumps off a building and lands on a cab carrying Steven. With a large sum of
money, he hires Steven to kill him, not immediately but only when he does not
really want to die.
Steven betrays him and he shoots him three times at close
range after their opening discussion. However, Percival survives. Steven tries
shooting him in the head; still he lives minus one eye. He suffocates him on
bed with his sexual partner but still he survives while the other guy dies.
Soon, the two develops a unique form of relationship. They
discover each other’s emotional baggage which pushed them to become the person they
are. While Percival is torn with the murder of his boyfriend Chris, Steven is
distraught with the death of the only woman he loved in a hit-and-run accident.
The trauma made Steven experience seizures and panic attacks when he tries to
cross a street.
Consequently, Steven finds humanity and compassion while
looking out for Percival. Just when he does not want to kill anymore, Steven uncovers
painful truths that will test the kind of person he has become.
The Suicide Theory is
a well-crafted story of predestined lives. Though events are coincidental, the
film manages to be compelling because of its raw humanity and neat
storytelling. Steven and Percival lead symmetrical lives, mirroring each
other’s ache and melancholy. Each is lost but each gradually finds forgiveness
and a sense of freedom from the other. The film is mostly strange and ditzy but
in the long run, it is touching and deeply satisfying.
With its ominous atmosphere and dark vibe, the movie is
shamelessly nasty with plenty of witty dialogues and wicked humor. It is
interspersed with few flashbacks, giving us hints of both the past and future.
It holds its pieces together until the film reaches a clear-cut ending, one
with no stone left unturned.
The appealing performance of the two lead actors carried the
film really well. Cain brings out the desperation, anguish and pain of
Percival. He is both disturbing and moving. Meanwhile, Mouzakis brilliantly
played the unhinged Steven. Initially rugged and vicious, he emerges as fragile
and sympathizing as he grapples his own emotional battles. Mouzakis undoubtedly
delivers a winning and powerful performance.
The Suicide Theory is
an intensely gratifying tour-de-force. The actors, story and direction all work
together to deliver this humble masterpiece. It is wicked but overwhelmingly
heart-warming at the same time.
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