The green room – a review

Story: A small punk-rock band plays a gig at a bar run by white supremists. On their way out they see something they shouldn’t have. Now the group of neo-Nazis try to control the situation by taking out the witnesses.

Neo-Nazi’s as villains. What a charming notion. Now; what thirty-odd years of life has taught me is that extreme right-winged people aren’t (overall) the cleverest of the bunch except (and this is important!), the spokes person.

Suppose a political party, the person doing the talking is a wizard with words. This is the kind of guy (usually a guy) who realizes the evil he is telling and knows the reactions he can get. So he learned to sell his story like it is the absolute truth without resorting to discrimination or, even, bad mouthing. So that, when he finished his monologue you have to grab you mind together- usually it takes a minute or two for you to realize that every sugarcoated word he told you is just topping on the vilest dehumanizing filth of a cake he is trying for you to swallow- before you can retort.

Neo-Nazis are dangerous because the lower classed ones commit all the violence and the hatred whilst the spokes people sugarcoat it.

The biggest name in the green room is Patrick Stewart who plays such a sweet talking monster of a person. I’m saying biggest name but we must not forget that the main actor Anton Yelchin, who plays Pat, the ‘good guy’-as it were, died tragically a few weeks back in a freak accident. In some post-mortem way this (always solid) actor become a full celebrity after his death.

On point though: even though his family and loved ones have my utmost respect and sincere condolences, I do wonder why news networks decided to spent thirty seconds of coverage on Anton Yelchin and no coverage at all, two days later, on Bud Spencer who died the same week of old age. A freak accident versus an European legend. I suspect the journalists figured they had a story…anyway I digress.

Patrick Stewart is brilliant in the way that his character tries to control the situation. I believe I never heard him say a single anti-Semite thing yet he is an absolute villain. But, now that I think about it, his character also didn’t shy away from the massive swastika-flag hanging in the office –so he’s a villain from the get go. But, there –to me- lies the problem. The swastika is just set-decoration.

When you get down to the basics of this movie it is really a tale about a group of people wanting to escape and a group of villains wanting to kill them; That’s it! The neo-Nazi element and the dangers these people possess when it comes to words and negotiation are like: ‘fairy dust’ –to quote Matthew McConaughey in the Wolf of Wall Street- to make it more interesting.

And on that level the movie fails for me. The ‘fairy dust’ IS interesting. The way one of those Nazis cares for his killer dogs is both intriguing and resentful. But, unfortunately, that’s where it stays. It stays outside of the main plot. Even Macon Blair’s character as one of the more level-headed neo-Nazi’s doesn’t really overcomplicate the main plot which –once again- involves people wanting to get out, whilst people try to kill them.

Then there’s the ‘good group’ who make one illogical decision after the other. Which, at the start, is understandable. But the minute they realize what’s going on they should be better prepared. They are not and they fall like flies. Only in the endgame the tension rises lightly because the ‘good guys’ finally decide to strike back.  But by then, to me –the guy who has seen more than enough similar movies (e.g. Straw Dogs)- it’s already too late. You can see the ending coming.

Patrick Stewart’s character makes a nice twist in the end but the ending expected stays the same leaving you with a movie that you could have written with crayons.

Is it a bad movie? Of course not. It’s a solid thriller! It is well shot (especially considering the economical budget) and the acting is very good. But it could have been far better if it wasn’t so predictable. If the heroes of the tale didn’t have such a death wish. If only the movie focused on the true dangers of neo-Nazism instead of using them as a coat rack for danger.

We might have had an interesting tale. Now we basically have the ‘serial killer roaming outside’-plot in which said killer is a bit more interesting.