By Geno McGahee
In MILLION DOLLAR BABY, Margo Martindale played one of the most unlikable characters in film history. She played the white trash mother of the female boxing champion and what made it so unlikable was how close to home it hit with so many. We all know people like that, and if you don’t, consider yourself very lucky. I know plenty…you can have some of mine.
In SCALENE, Martindale returns as “Janice Trimble,” the mother of a special needs son. Her son, Jakob (Adam Scarimbolo) had a reaction to drugs that fried his brain and is now a basic vegetable that needs constant care from his mother. Janice finds a man named “Charles” (Jim Dougherty) and needs some loving, but there are two problems. One, Jakob needs to be cared for and two, Charles is a real prick that wants nothing to do with her son.
Janice hires Paige (Hanna Hall) to watch Jakob as she goes out on her dates with Charles. Paige begins to suspect abuse as she finds bruises on Jakob and witnesses some verbal outbursts from Janice. Her concerns were brushed off by Janice and that’s when the unthinkable happened. Jakob raped Paige and now he must go away to a home for the rest of his life.
Much like her role in MILLION DOLLAR BABY, Martindale comes off as a believable wreck. She is desperate for love and in a hopeless situation with her son, but she also loves Jakob as well and is having a hard time finding any balance in her life. When the rape happens, she flips her lid and gets a gun and goes after Paige.
SCALENE has some twists and turns and it is filmed in a unique manner. You get to see the rape incident and the before and after from all three perspectives: Janice, Paige and Jakob. The movie keeps you guessing and it really asks you where you stand at the end. Did Paige do the right thing? Is Jakob better off in a home and what will be left of Janice? You will be asking yourself these questions at the conclusion.
I recommend SCALENE. It was a very interesting flick.
Rating: 7/10
Honestly..? You could travel non-stop from the slow lane to the fast lane and still be stuck playing out different senarios. By the end of the movie ” Right or Wrong ” your conclusion must come to an END..!!!