Getting films completed and released is so difficult that finding fault with them is no longer appealing. As long as filmmakers are trying to be constructive, shouldn’t they be given some credit?
Putting that theory to the test is 5lbs of Pressure, a drama in which an ex-con tries to reassemble his life after 13 years in prison. It’s a film in which everyone is trying to do the right thing, from writer and director Phil Allocco to stars Luke Evans and Alex Pettyfer and the accomplished crew.
Set in the boroughs of New York City (with mysteriously tree-lined streets and parks), the script follows Adam (Luke Evans, capable but stolid) as he tries to reconnect with his ex-wife Donna (Stephanie Leonidas) and son Jimmy (a floundering Rudy Pankow).
But obstacles beset the ex-con. It’s hard finding an apartment, the only job available is a night shift at a dive bar, and Donna wants nothing to do with him. Allocco paints a convincing portrait of how difficult it is for someone like Adam to stay on a moral path, and Evans’ grim demeanor, his sudden violent outbursts, his tentative efforts to apologize for his mistakes are all persuasive.
Other story lines in 5lbs aren’t nearly as successful. First there’s a crime ring run by Leff (Alex Pettyfer). Drugs, guns, cars are all up for grabs. Leff is in charge of his sister’s son Jimmy (a grimly effective Rory Culkin), a wannabe musician who’s stuck making dodgy payoffs and transferring bags of guns and drugs.
An all-around abusive bad guy, Leff holds his sister’s death by OD over Jimmy’s head. With long, stringy hair and black leather outfits, Jimmy is a born target. Culkin plays him straight, adding to the character’s desolation and dim future.
At an AA meeting, Adam reveals that he went to prison for shooting someone on the street as a teenager. Structurally damaging coincidences start piling up as the film progresses. Adam’s victim’s brother Eli (Zac Adams) is goaded by his mother to confront Adam, who for some reason has decided to move back to his old neighborhood.
Eli’s anger management issues reach a crisis point when he discovers that his bandmate Jimmy has stolen his girlfriend Lori (Savannah Steyn). Meanwhile, Jimmy tries to break free from his brother by engineering a heroin deal on his own, only to lose money loaned to him by a vicious gangster.
The gloom keeps mounting: Donna threatens to report Adam to his parole officer (an excellent Julee Cerda), Mike won’t accept him, and not one but two crooks burst into his bar brandishing guns.
Evans does a fair job with Adam, especially during a couple of monologues when he describes his past. It’s a weirdly passive role because that’s what the script wants. But that also means that despite good intentions, he just isn’t a very interesting character.
Nor is 5lbs an interesting film. It tries hard, and its alleyways and therapy meetings and dingy bars and auto repair shops provide a certain amount of atmosphere. (Although most of the film was shot in Manchester, England.)
Ultimately the movie doesn’t have anything compelling to say about its ex-cons and drug dealers, its gangsters and abandoned wives, its orphans and ineffective counselors. It may not be exploitation, but 5lbs of Pressure doesn’t feel much better.
Credits
Written and directed by Phil Allocco. Produced by Zac Adams, Isen Robbins, Aimee Schoof, Dominic Burns, Crawford Anderson-Dillon, Roy Scott MacFarland, Marc Danon, Ford Corbett, Luke Evans, Phil Allocco. Director of photography: Sara Deane. Edited by Seth Anderson. Cast: Luke Evans, Rory Culkin, Zac Adams, Alex Pettyfer, Stephanie Leonidas, Julee Cerda, Savannah Steyn.
In theaters, on digital, and on demand. Photos (Luke Evans; Alex Pettyfer, Rory Culkin) courtesy Lionsgate.
