Our thanks to regular ScreenAnarchy reader Volker Briegleb for this review of Infernal Affairs director Andrew Lau's Hollywood debut, The Flock.
What a mess. Quite unfortunately, there's probably no better way to describe Andrew Lau's US debut as director. To be fair, "The Flock" is an interesting mess -- after all, this is coming from the man behind the highly acclaimed "Infernal Affairs" franchise. There are a few moments that "Flock", starring an ageing Richard Gere and wide-eyed Clare Danes, trancends its apparent flaws and becomes a film that could be. But those are far to few to make this a satisfying genre flick. For all we know, this might not be entirely Lau's fault.
"Flock" had been sitting on the shelf for quite a while, with its release date being pushed back again and again, only to finally go straight to video. Along with other projects, Lau's film had been caught in the Bauer Martinez distribution quagmire. Rookie distrib Philippe Martinez had entered the US-market on a high roll and ran into cash troubles, dragging along a number of other productions due for a theatrical release. "Flock", too, seemed cursed from the start, having to move principal photography from New Orleans to New Mexico after Katrina hit the US south.
The location change didn't hurt the picture, as Lau and his cinematographer Enrique Chediak make good use of Albuquerque locations, capturing barren landscapes in beautiful cinemascope. Here we meet Erroll Babbage (Gere), a desillusioned city clerk keeping track of registered sex offenders in his town. Notorious for violent behaviour against his "flock", Babbage is being retired early and is given three weeks to hand over business to his successor, Allison Lowry (Danes). When a young girl vanishes, Babbage is convinced that someone from his flock has become active again. Lowry in tow, he sets out to find the missing girl.
For her, it's a journey into the darker corners of society where he seems quite at home. The porn factory where Babbage and Lowry look for their suspect has "sleaze" written all over it. The film takes a different direction here, taking us deep into "8mm 2" territory. It's not quite clear if it's still Lau who's at the helm here. Reportedly, Martinez wasn't satisfied with Lau's version of the finished film, fired him and brought in Niels Mueller ("The Assassination of Richard Nixon") for reshoots.
The result is a mixed bag. Shooting from a script by Hans Bauer and Craig Mitchell (of "Anaconda" and "Komodo" fame), Lau probably couldn't work miracles anyhow. Still, it would be interesting to see his original cut, as Flock" has some good moments especially during its opening reel. He felt lucky having been able to do a drama rather than a cop movie for his first Hollywood picture, Lau said. Not so lucky any more. Seems like that drama was wrestled from his hands and turned into a cop movie. Welcome to Hollywood.
Review by Volker Briegleb.