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Treed Murray (2001) Plus avec IMDbPro »

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13 utilisateurs sur 13 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
Near impossible to turn the TV off during this one, 27 novembre 2002

Auteur : unbend_5440 de Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

A man named Murray gets into an altercation with a gang after getting lost in a park. The gang then chases him and Murray is forced to hide in a tree. Of course it doesn't take the gang longer than a minute to find him hiding up there (and thankfully it didn't take them longer... that would've made for a poor movie). This is how Treed Murray begins. The rest of the movie takes place over the course of one night, with Murray hiding in the tree, and the gang waiting, taunting, intimidating, and threatening him from down on the ground.

Of course Treed Murray isn't as simple or basic as the plot may lead you to believe. At only 90 minutes long, it manages to be more intriguing, fascinating and brilliant than any movie I think I've seen in the past year. The dialogue, which makes up 95% of the film, is more than enough to carry the entire movie on it's own. On top of that there are amazing performances from all the actors. David Hewlett, who was the best thing about the Canadian show Traders, is in almost every scene as the main character, Murray. He brings so much to the movie and his character. At every point in the movie you sympathize with him, despite his character being a bit of a low life. It seemed like every other scene had some new revelation about Murray that gives you good reason to hate him, yet Hewlett still makes him a likeable guy somehow. If Treed Murray can get as much great exposure as one of Hewlett's earlier movies CUBE got, he could become one of Canada's next big acting exports.

But as brilliant as David Hewlett was in Treed Murray, myself and everyone else who watched it with me thought he was upstaged by Cle Bennett, who plays the gang leader Shark. Bennett is powerful and charismatic, an odd thing for a young and fairly inexperienced actor. One of the questions brought up in the story is why Shark is the leader, and why he makes all the decisions for the rest of the gang. I'm thinking if I knew someone like him, I'd probably do whatever he said too. I hope there's a Director out there looking to hire Bennett, because he has such star potential.

In the end what really works about Treed Murray is it's realism and character development. Even though Murray is the hero of the film, he has many flaws. And even though all the gang members would be clear cut villains in a typical American movie, here they have several redeemable qualities. I loved that all the characters had interesting and honest things to say. Despite the fact they're trying to kill a guy for no reason, I found myself agreeing with so much that they said.

Treed Murray is one of those rare movies that you not only can't turn off once it begins, but you can also watch over and over and over again. I give it 10 out of 10. If I was allowed to give it anything higher, I would. I LOVE this movie.

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9 utilisateurs sur 10 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
8/10 Hidden gem. Solid acting by leads, moves well, fair script., 10 novembre 2004

Auteur : yak-yak de Canada

This is really one of those hidden gems of a movie. The plot is so simple: An executive type gets trapped in a tree by a group of young hoods. It's all psychological stuff, virtually zero dollars spent on set design and such, because it's just a park. The acting by all of the main characters is quite solid, especially that of the group leader. A bit of excess drama at one point with scary people doing scary things, but it wasn't too overdone. They got the point across anyway.

This is really worth renting. It's not action-packed, but it's going to keep you watching until it's over.

8/10

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8 utilisateurs sur 9 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
Concrete Jungle Boogie, 14 décembre 2003
Auteur : Christopher T. Chase (cchase@onebox.com) de Arlington, VA.

Taking a page from old-fashioned, one-off thrillers from the Sixties and Seventies like LADY IN A CAGE or THE INCIDENT, writer/director William Phillips uses a deceptively simple plot to produce a psychological thriller/character study that at the very least is engaging. Thank goodness the producers made sure that it got a title change before reaching American screens. As it is, the new title "GET DOWN" may trick some people into thinking this is some kind of disco period piece like CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC. For anyone who may have given this film the brush-off for that reason, let me assure you: this one is WAY better.

The premise is straight to the point: a harried businessman, John Murray (David Hewlett from the excellent CUBE, another controversial indie flick), is on his way to work downtown, and probably late. Not wanting to be bothered by the homeless people and the panhandlers, he decides to take a short cut through the city park. Bad luck for him. On the way, he is stopped by a young thug whom he asks for directions. The teen demands money for his help, and when Murray refuses, the kid blocks his way and demands his wallet. P*ssed off by this, Murray pops the kid in the face with his briefcase, which results in the sudden appearance of the rest of the "gang" the young thug belongs to. WORSE luck for him.

A chase ensues, and a desperate Murray resorts to the only thing he thinks will prevent him from a severe beating: he climbs a very tall tree. Hence the title. Now a war of words, wills and wild attempts to get at him begins, revealing things about Murray and the young punks who are after him, that let the audience in on one important truth...none of us is better than anyone else, even when we'd like to believe we are. Because as it turns out, we are more alike than we want to admit, or may even realize.

For a small, short film with no big names to speak of, there are strong performances all round, with Hewlett leading the cast. Murray is not a likeable character, even when we know that he's in the right about defending himself, yet Hewlett still manages to make him seem human and flawed, rather than outright hateful, which would've been a major hardship for the film to overcome.

All the young performers are fairly good, with Cle Bennett a remarkable standout as the "gang's" leader, Shark. He has a lot of the same vibe and style as ANGEL'S J. August Richards, and I suspect it won't be too long before we end up seeing him getting a lot more work.

Though the socio-political and economic issues addressed here have reviewed before, and in much better fashion in other movies, at least Phillips guides his cast in a way that makes it all seem fresh and original. That said, the director couldn't miss throwing in a least one homage, namely to John Carpenter. It involves a very unexpectedly creepy scene, in which Murray witnesses first hand, the one thing that makes his aggressors actually run for the hills, (or in this case, the bushes.) It is a very goosebump-raising scene that carries with it echoes of ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK or ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, and you've gotta love somebody with enough smarts and savvy to give 'props' to those two classics.

I'll give this four out of five stars. A bigger name cast and a more seasoned director would have raised GET DOWN'S cinematic pedigree, but as is, it won't leave you bored, and not too disappointed, (unless, like me, you don't get into the anti-climactic finish.)

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4 utilisateurs sur 5 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
Better than "Kids"?, 12 février 2003

Auteur : JONATHAN PIPER (pipster101) de London

I caught this on cable last night and have to say that this was as riveting and shocking in places as Larry Clark's "Kids". To have a movie shot in one location solely relying on its script-writing is unusual, but a script working as effectively as this certainly provides a breath of fresh air. A hugely inventive and original film - see this or miss out.

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4 utilisateurs sur 5 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
Astounding film..., 30 janvier 2002

Auteur : heydere2 de canada

Saw a special "Genie" (Canadian Oscar) screening this past Sunday evening. I had heard nothing but good things about this film, so i decided to attend. I was blown away. Amazing acting (THE WHOLE CAST!-which is rare these days), great direction, and the best thing of all is that it basically takes place all in one location, and does not come of as "theater" at all. I loved it, highly recommend it.

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2 utilisateurs sur 2 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
A good examination of issues, though built on cliche characters, 16 septembre 2001

Auteur : (ajs-1) de Toronto, Canada

While this movie seems to revolve around characters and situations that are cliche and perhaps more based on American media archetypes than reality, Treed Murray nevertheless turns out to be a thought-provoking examination of issues relevant to today's times.

Growing up watching the TV series Degrassi Junior High, we always used to joke that for a show noted for its "reality" they sure did a remarkable job of overlaying every possible teen calamity on a very small group of characters. This movie can be accused of a similar projection. However, perhaps in 90 minutes of film this sort of license may be not only allowable, but necessary.

Overall, this is a very worthwhile, entertaining and interesting film, that manages to stand quite apart from those movies from which its characters have been lifted.

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1 utilisateurs sur 1 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
solid writerly movie***contains spoilers, 21 mars 2007

Auteur : selenedm999 de Canada

*** Ce commentaire peut contenir des spoilers ***

***contains possible spoilers*** As a fan if "indie" cinema, and what they used to call guerrilla (sp?) film-making, I'm always very intrigued by movies that take next to nothing and make it into a lot. The way to do this is with a good cast, and a solid script, which Treed Murray has.

The plot is basic: an advertising executive gets chased by a group of teenaged criminals. He climbs a tree for safety, and spends the night there. The kids decide to stick around (rather than do the easy thing and leave with his briefcase), and what follows is a tense character study that ends in violence. The lesson here is the old cliché, "Be sure your sins will find you out." Although there's nothing altogether new on the character front (rich white guys, thick headed but loyal white trash guy, white trash chick, and a couple of badass black kids that are twice as smart but lack direction), the thrill of the movie is watching the characters interact. The writing mostly rings true, and the actors and filmmakers worked hard to avoid the worst of the predictables. At the end of it, you're not left feeling good about the characters' lives, and I found myself really thinking of them as people and wondering what would happen next.

The setting of the movie only barely distinguishes itself as Toronto. The one down side to the movie is that in trying to examine the race divide, which is just as clear in Canada only much subtler than in the U.S., it underscores its own racism. You know the rich white guys are going to be fine because hey, they're rich and white. The white trash dude will be fine because he's also white and male. The chick will be fine because she can always sell her a$$ or have a kid and go on welfare (in Ontario the stereotype is reduced to that--we take much better care of our poor here than in the States but it doesn't say much for women or the poor). But you have the feeling that the kids who are truly screwed are the black kids. Shark, who at least had his gang at the beginning, isn't left with much, and Carter's left with nothing at all. Although you know it's the truth, it's still an awkward one, because I think we escape to movies to watch the people we wish we were. It's uncomfortable when they fail.

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1 utilisateurs sur 1 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
One of the best of this year's Genie crop, 5 février 2002

Auteur : timberck de Halifax, Nova Scotia

This is a good film! Good, solid performances. A clever idea that is well carried out. The images were rather bland, but that is really the only down-side. Good solid screenwriting for a change, too. One of the best of this year's Genie crop. Definitely worth seeing.

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great movie, 3 février 2008

Auteur : christella de Royaume-Uni

watched this to see other work David hewlett had done. i was blown away by this movie. that man can really act! wonderful simple premise well executed,brilliantly directed,excellent ensemble cast. David hewlett and cle bennett shine as the main protagonists,a movie set in a tree with just an excellent script to hold your focus.

rent or even buy this movie and you will watch it more than once.

the ending was not too much of a surprise,and would have liked more of around up at the end,but that is just personal preference

watching David as murray,play the gang off one another is brilliantly done,and finding out that murray is just as flawed as they are is superb.

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Worth it, 3 janvier 2008

Auteur : sweepsupplies de Etats-Unis

I bought this movie because I wanted to watch more movies with David Hewlett. I have to say he is really good in this film. He makes his Murray a believable person with faults and good points. At first I couldn't see how he could win against the gang( he is in a tree for most of the film, trapped) but he is a good talker and that is a real advantage and at times he sticks his foot is his mouth big time. The rest of the actors are good and believable. Only thing is that all of the main people are not who you think they are. Funny how we all think we can tell who everybody is just by meeting them. This movie proves this to not be the case. The acting in this low budget film is great and the story line is not new just not over done.

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