I recently watched “Don’t Breathe” and found it to be a highly entertaining, effectively tense, and a contained thriller that thrived in some mild originality. After watching the new trailer for “The Good Neighbor” I hope it can bring much the same regardless of the worrisome mid-September release. It premiered at the SXSW Festival this year and from the early word, people are saying good things about it.
James Caan is one of the all-time greats in the industry and if the writing allows he should be easily able to create this odd, mysterious character the story needs him to be. Seeing him in the trailer shows major promise and he looks to be very involved in the story which can only help it. I do hope this isn’t simply just a paycheck for him and that he can deliver a compelling role in a tense thriller.
Can’t wait to see what this story will turn out to be. I’m not usually a fan of the first-act opening after the main story has taken place, and by the looks of it this will be told in flashback form through courtroom set-ups, which can hinder the unpredictability. But if the story flows in the right directions and holds it focus and can deliver a solid plot twist there is great potential here.
Sometimes a film will not blow you away from the trailer, and often may look like a rather common suspense film trying to merge itself in the horror genre. But in a way that is a good thing because if this film can harness the potential of James Caan and allow him to create a sadistic, believable character, as well as wrap a complete story around him this can be a hidden gem for the month of September and another reminder why Caan is one of the greats.
Release Date: 16, September 2016