Jason Statham Shows Range on Road to ‘Redemption’

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Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Stephen Knight, the writer of brilliant scripts for “Eastern Promises” & “Dirty Pretty Things,” makes his directorial debut with “Redemption,” opening today in limited release, starring Jason Statham in a role that proves that he has more dramatic range than he’s usually asked to display. With Statham’s best performance since “The Bank Job,” “Redemption” nearly works. It’s one of those truly frustrating films in that there are numerous scenes & moments that work but Knight can’t quite fashion them into a whole that’s not a disappointment. But he comes damn close.

Joey Jones (Statham) participated in something horrible in his time in the service. He’s shattered with PTSD to the degree that he even has hallucinations (one involving hummingbirds, which contributed to the film’s superior, original title, “Hummingbird,” when it was released overseas) and has taken to life on the street. He drowns his trauma in booze, while also avoiding a court martial by staying anonymous. When some thugs beat him up, he’s chased to a rooftop, where he falls through a skylight into an apartment that seems unoccupied. He learns that the owner is gone for the Summer, takes some of his clothes and the credit card he got in the mail, and tries to clean himself up a bit.

Redemption
Photo credit: Roadside Attractions

Finding redemption through stepping into the shoes of a stranger is one of only several plotlines that don’t quite weave through “Redemption” but instead sit parallel to one another. Joey gets involved with the mafia, confronts a pedophile murderer, and even begins a unique relationship with the nun named Cristina (Agata Buzek) who feeds him at a soup kitchen. That arc is actually the most successful of the film by some stretch. Cristina sees some purity and truth in Joey’s eyes. This is a good man in a bad life. And Cristina herself seems to have some trauma in the past that Joey could help her deal with. While a love story between a homeless criminal and a Polish nun may sound like nonsense, it is clear that this is the plotline that interests Knight & Statham the most. It’s where the film comes alive.

Where it sags is in the action scenes, some of which feel like they were pushed into the script just to appeal to Statham’s audience. This is NOT an action movie but there are a few “Statham vs. five guys” fight scenes in which he gets to return to his genre roots. Those scenes aren’t bad but it’s the smaller, character-driven moments that connect in “Redemption.” There’s a really stellar scene in which Joey asks Cristina to take some pictures of him to give his estranged daughter. As Joey questions whether or not he looks like a good man, the woman who has grown affection for him feels both sympathy and concern. Why can’t he just go to his daughter? Why do these pictures feel like a eulogy?

Redemption
Photo credit: Roadside Attractions

Both actors are great in that scene, as well as another one when Cristina gets a little drunk on one of her rare nights away from the convent. Both characters are drawing the humanity out of each other, Cristina finding the kindness in Joey and Joey finding the passion in Cristina. I really liked these characters and the film easily works the best when they’re both on screen.

Because it really doesn’t when they’re not together. The crime subplots are uninteresting to the extreme. Yes, this is a Jason Statham movie where the character is more interesting than the cluttered narrative. Most Statham are plot-driven but “Redemption” didn’t need to be. The action star and Buzek give strong enough performances that the scenes in which they are allowed to just develop their characters become far more interesting than the clichéd plots. “Redemption” proves that Statham has way more range than those who know him only from “The Expendables” and “Transporter” films may think. I just wish he could have shown it in a movie that worked better than this near-miss.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]