THE VESSEL REVIEWED
“The Vessel” is a film where the influence of producer Terence Malick weighs heavy on its narrative. Father Douglas (Martin Sheen) is a weary man that wants his community to move on following a natural tragedy. A tsunami struck the town and killed almost everyone’s children at the local school. The townspeople are destroyed and have left the school in ruins for nearly a decade. The population is aging, but nobody seems ready to move on from that terrible day. Father Douglas tries making suggestions, but to no avail.
A local teen named Leo (Lucas Quintana) lost his brother to the Tsunami. Having spent a decade watching his mother in a state of perpetual stock, he’s conflicted. His friends are leaving for the nearby city, but he wants to save his crippled town. While Leo and Father Douglas get complete arcs, it’s done in the way that a Malick film would feel if compressed to 90 minutes. There are rushes of natural beauty and devastated landscapes. There’s an attempt to say something about the human spirit.
However, audiences are left wondering about certain story elements. Can the town ever move on? When the Father Douglas types of the world are gone, who will care? “The Vessel” is well worth a watch, if you can find it in your neighborhood.
FILM STATS
- 1 hr and 26 mins
- PG-13
- New Territory Pictures
