By Melissa Antoinette Garza
Ever since I could remember I’ve been a fan of Danny Glover. I have loved absolutely everything about his acting since I was a child. In comedies, he has great comedic timing. In action, he kept me on the edge of my seat, and in drama he can be gut-wrenchingly realistic and heartfelt in his portrayals.
I’m also generally interested in any movies regarding the topic of racism. Whether it be Dancing in September (2000), Mississippi Burning (1988), Panther (1995), Malcolm X (1992), etc, I’m always drawn in.
I read the back of the DVD cover of Supremacy and the premise was essentially about a brutal racist killer who breaks into a family’s home where the patriarch Mr. Walker (Danny Glover) has the ability to mentally mess with the man in effort to survive. It definitely was up my alley. I bought it for $10.00 at Walmart and decided to take a shot.
Though, I don’t regret the purchase. It was worth the watch but certainly not what I expected.
On the plus, the acting is great all around. The racist killer Garrett (Joe Anderson) and his equally racist coke-head girlfriend Doreen (Dawn Olivieri) play the white trash douchebags perfectly. They are completely nonredeemable characters, which would be perfect if they were intended to be soulless villains without effort of repentance. Oddly, the writer and director move towards a different direction.
Garrett kills a police officer while Doreen drives away. They take some hidden roads and end up at the Walker home. The family is taken hostage and racial slurs are thrown around. Initially, the family of six are locked in a closet as Doreen and Garrett try to figure some sort of plan out.
He then goes upstairs and lets them out but never really sees them as people. Mr. Walker tries to reason with the two and though at times it seems to sink in mentally to Garrett, his actions are contrary to what is going through his mind. The film’s message seems to be that mentally knowing what you are doing is wrong and still doing it is better than one who is just ignorant and acts without knowing right from wrong. I disagree. I don’t think ignorance is any sort of excuse for heinous behavior but I do believe that someone who begins to realize that their core belief system is wrong yet still makes decisions that are detrimental to others based on the beliefs that they held previously is unforgivable.
Near the end, as Doreen gives up and Garrett is on the edge while the police and negotiator have found and surrounded them, Mr. Walker gives an impassioned speech the way only Danny Glover can. Glover throughout the film is as usual remarkable.
That said, there was one serious flaw with the movie. As a viewer there is never a moment to feel compassion for the captors. Perhaps, that makes Mr. Walker a better man than the audience, but it just seems unrealistic. There are many recent flashbacks during the movie but none that show some sort of reasoning behind the discrimination. If we had seen Garrett as a little boy playing with an African American child and then strongly reprimanded by a drunk father, maybe the viewers would have the emotional tug at the end that the filmmakers wanted us to, but instead we’re left with an empty slate. Sure, something probably happened in Doreen and Garrett’s past that made them such scumbags, but we, as the viewers, don’t care. In film, you must show the turmoil.
For example, Mr. Walker has an estranged son who he rarely talks to. An attempt is made and his son has no idea that the reason he cuts the call short is due to being held hostage so he has a strong talk to his wife, advising her never to bring up his father again. It was a single scene but it said so much and the delivery between both actors during their momentary conversation was brilliant.
That however was just a side story, the main story is Garrett and Doreen’s despicable behavior without reasoning and the need of the powers-that-be to make the viewer feel empathy if not sympathy at the end for them. We just don’t.
Now, in the film’s defense it was based on a true story. I’m sure certain elements were enhanced for dramatic effect, so I don’t know why that wasn’t done for the villains.
I am completely for Mr. Walker trying to reach this clown, but after all Garrett did to have him fold so easily
doesn’t make logical sense. His tears, as good as the actor is at delivering them, stirs nothing in the audience. We still hate the guy. We’ve seen too many scenes of him murdering individuals without remorse to feel any remorse for him.
Still, I’d say this movie is worth watching. It doesn’t have a satisfying ending and the message seems muddled, nor does it have enough of Glover in the movie. Though, he’s promoted heavily, I would say he is roughly in 20 minutes of the entire production.
Whatever the case, Glover is still the man and I hope to see him star in a big production soon. It seems like he’s fallen off the map and on to straight-to-streaming movies now, which is sad because he’s one of the most talented actors of our generation. He’s like Henry Fonda from 12 Angry Men (1957) or Spencer Tracy from Inherit the Wind (1960).
More and more, it seems that African American actors who are older than 40 are being pushed out of theatrical releases at the same rate as women who are over 40. I hope both trends die down as Glover is a goldmine and it would be a shame for him to waste his talent on movies that are not of his caliber.
For more interesting and entertaining Danny Glover films check out the action film Bad Ass 2:Bad Asses (2014) starring Glover and the ever-so-sexy and talented Danny Trejo which is currently on Netflix. For a suspensful thriller that packs a punch, you can also find Night Train (2009). They’re better films, but if you watch all three you can certainly see the range of Glover and why he should be utilized a helluva lot more.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6/10
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