So, a year and eight months after AK's recommendation, I watched this movie. Driven by the desire to see more work from the director of
Bronson and
Drive, two movies of varied quality but with top-notch lead performances. And
Fear X is the same. The movie, as good as it is, becomes a medium to witness a bravado performance by
John Turturro, the same who is seldom recognized for the fine actor he is.
Turturro plays Harry, a man plagued by sorrow and solitude. His wife is killed in a random incident, but Harry believes there is more to it than an accident. Troubled by the nudge in his head to do something about it, he sets out to find out for himself what, or why, it happened.
While
Bronson was very unconventional in its narrative,
Drive and
Fear X are similar - in that they are linear-storytelling that focuses on one man. This movie, though, hardly has any supporting players, next-to-none female characters and, for its most part, is not about observing the protagonist, but his PoV & his feelings.
Refn uses a bit of abstractedness to convey the mental state of Harry, and
Turturro's performance in relation to these sequences is simply fantastic.
Fear X has a small-town setting and an everyman protagonist who isn't out for heroics or to claim his own form of justice, just a man very lonely on the inside.
My Rating --> 5 of 5
