Treed Murray. . - Take One Reviews - movie review

TAKE ONE, Dec, 2001 by Paul Townend

2001 89m prod Treed Murray Productions, exp Bryan Gliserman, Marguerite Pigot, p Helen du Toit, d/sc William Phillips, ph John Holosko, ed Brett Sullivan, sr Stephen Barden, s ed Bisa Scekic, Herwig Gayer, pd Diana Magnus, ad Dan Horton, c Anne Dixon, m James McGrath; with David Hewlett, Cle Bennett, Kevin Duhaney, Aaron Ashmore, Jessica Greco, Carter Hayden, Julien Richlings.

Ayuppy -- advertising executive Murray Roberts -- freshly scrubbed and in a hurry, takes a shortcut through a city park to a destination unknown. He loses his barrings and is confronted by a young tough, Carter, who demands five dollars for directions. Murray dismisses the wannabe mugger, but Carter won't let him pass without payment. A confrontation occurs, Carter is knocked down, and the rest of the gang appears. Murray knows he's in trouble and makes a run for it. Like a cornered bear chased by hounds, he climbs a convenient tree, where he is stuck for the rest of the film.

The gang, lead by Shark, an articulate and very talkative bully, at first tries to bring Murray down by climbing the tree, and when this fails, they try to bring him down with stones. Murray, however, proves to be a resourceful and tough opponent and all attempts to dislodge him from his perch fail. So the gang settles in for a long wait. Murray tries submission, bargaining, manipulation -- all tools of his trade -- in a futile effort to gain his freedom. The gang rummage through his briefcase left on the ground and discover his cell phone and dirty little secrets Murray hides from his pregnant wife, such as his taste for young hookers and illicit drugs.

The dangerous game of chess continues throughout the night, with Murray and Shark verbally battling for the loyalty of the increasingly fractous gang. Into this mix passes a bloodthirsty band of roving thugs who carry machetes and kill the homeless in the park. Shark's gang of wannabes hide in terror and give the advantage to Murray, who senses he is winning this macho standoff. As the dawn breaks, Shark determines to finish things off and orders Carter to get his father's gun and bring it back to the park. The plan backfires when the gang, instead of shooting Murray, turn on each other, and Carter is accidentally shot. Murray comes down from the tree to attend to Carter's wound while some of the others fetch help.

The strategy of any good, well--planned, low--budget film is to keep the locations to a minimum and the dialogue sharp or funny. The limited locations keep the costs down and good dialogue distracts attention from the fact that the filmmakers can't afford special effects, car crashes or elaborately worked out scenes with lots of extras. First-time feature director William Phillips succeeds on both accounts. Treed Murray may not be the most audacious Canadian debut feature to come down the pike since Jean--Claude Lauzon's Un Zoo la nuit, but it certainly succeeds in the limited goals it sets for itself and manages at times to be witty, insightful and poignant.

Treed Murray's strength lies in its writing, and obviously Phillips has studied classical plot structure. There are three acts broken down into seven scenes. The first act, or set--up, is precisely 15-minutes long. Murray (David Hewlett from Traders) enters a park, is confronted by Carter (Kevin Duhaney) and his gang, makes a break from them and climbs a tree. The gang, led by the older Shark (Cle Bennett), makes two futile attempts to bring him down, and then settles into a standoff, for, as Shark says, "as long as it takes." End of act 1.

The second act is broken into four scenes, approximately 10- to 15-minutes a piece. Scene 1 has Murray calling for help and attracting the attention of a bicycle cop, but Shark outsmarts him and the cop rides on. Dwayne (Aaron Ashmore), the silent one in the gang, manages to open Murray's briefcase, revealing his secrets. Murray has hidden a vile of crack cocaine in a bottle of aspirin, and when his cellphone -- which is also in his briefcase -- rings, another secret unfolds. The only girl in the gang, Kelly (Jessica Greco), answers it and finds herself talking to Murray's wife. Kelly pretends to be his mistress, and from his wife's reaction, it becomes evident to her that her ruse is not far from the truth. Murray has not been faithful. Scene 2 moves the action into the night and the standoff becomes tense. Murray engages in a verbal duel that only provokes the gang into action, and once again they try to climb the tree. This time Carter makes it up to one of the branches, but Murray manages to pin him down and tie him up with his belt. Now Murray has a hostage and the game gets nastier.

Act 2, scene 3 has Murray climbing to the top of the tree to try and attract the attention of a passing helicopter. He falls through the branches, but manages to hang on as Dwayne and KC (Carter Hayden), the fifth gang member, try to pull him down. In the struggle, Carter is left hanging by the neck, and Kelly, realizing he is choking, pulls Dwayne and KC off Murray. Once back on his perch, he threatens to kill Carter if they don't let him go. But Shark calls his bluff and Carter is released. By now, however, the gang is falling apart and the original determination to get Murray is becoming less intense. Scene 4 introduces a roving gang of bloodthirsty thugs, Once they pass by, Shark's gang reappears after hiding in the bushes. It is apparent that things are not working out the way Shark had planned, and the gang temporarily separates, leaving Carter to guard Murray. Murray, in the act of taking a pee, falls out of the tree, bringing him face to face with Carter, who is put in the difficult position of betray ing his friends. The end of act 2 brings the film to its climax.