Flock (2007)

Heavy Gere - 3.5 Stars

This is one of Richard Gere's strongest performances - thanks to taut direction from Andrew Lau. Gere melds himself convincingly into the role of a man haunted by his past, the onerous aspects of his job, and the sexual offenders that he polices - aka his "flock". His character Errol Babbage finds himself in a very dark place - far darker than where Gere has gone before, as I recall him in roles like Internal Affairs. This film reminds me of "Seven" with Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, but is more disturbing in many ways. Intense viewing and probably not for the faint of heart or those who expecting a comfortable feel good film or Richard Gere as eye candy...Claire Dane delivers a consistent performance as the protege stepping into uncomfortable shoes. They could've dialed it up even higher and avoided a Hollywood ending, but it's pretty gritty as it is. I give Gere's performance 4.5 stars. August 26, 2008

intense relevant who done it for sophisticated viewers

well researched sex-tinged mystery utilizing risk assessment tools crafted by law enforcement and forensic psychological professionals. likely to keep you glued and guessing till the final scene. August 22, 2008

Creepy Flick

I watched this last night on DVD. It was well-acted and suspenseful. It actually caused me to have a nightmare around 3AM so someone did something right. July 20, 2008

his best ever film bar none

why was this film not in the cinema ?
a must see film for adults on the edge of your seat film pity it was not longer and if tom hanks took the lead role it would have been OSCAR material no doubt because it was him . I very highly recomend this film to everyone . June 23, 2008

What the Flock?

Although THE FLOCK has some pretty good acting by veteran Richard Gere, and some okay shots that might harken some back to THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS days, the movie stretches credibility to the breaking point and destroys itself against a plot that really leads nowhere.

The film is about Erroll Babbage (Gere) who works for the department of safety and is preparing to retire. His office thrusts upon him his replacement, Allison Lowry (Claire Danes, Stardust), who quickly discovers that Babbage is obsessed with his job. And that job ain't very fun. He monitors hundreds of sexual offenders who are on parole in his jurisdiction. Allison goes with Erroll on many calls to check up on his "flock" of offenders and learns that he is in desperate need of retirement. But Erroll is good at his job even if his methods aren't. He taunts sexual predators and even has physical conflicts with them. Erroll justifies his actions by bringing up these deviants' pasts. It is this "good justification" that challenges the audience on some level, letting us see how brutal Erroll is and yet how out-of-touch he's become (by being too close to his job).

When a teenage girl goes missing in Erroll's "area", he immediate leaps to the conclusion that she was abducted by one of his flock. But how could he know? Is Erroll that good at his job? Allison challenges him and Erroll pushes back. Their battles become as fierce as Erroll's need to find this missing girl.

Although the set-up for the story was okay, it didn't have any umpf! I will give credit to Richard Gere, however, who plays the Erroll character very well. Battling retirement. Worried about everyone who's near his flock. Disgusted with those he's responsible for overseeing. Disgusted with himself for having to do some of things he does. Quite a change in character portrayal for Gere. But beyond him there's not much else. Some of the sets are okay (dark and dangerous) but there are so many other problems as to be laughable.

I'll be the first to admit that suspending disbelief is a requirement whenever watching films. But that suspension has limits. The biggest push against those limits is the destruction of EXTREMELY vital crime scenes. Someone as meticulous as Erroll would KNOW that moving a body would be a huge no-no. Or trampling through a crime scene. Or moving evidence. It went beyond and hurt the film to no end.

The other damaging part of this film is that we never get into Clair Danes' character, Allison. She's almost dropped by the wayside at the end of the film and we're never privy to what her intension might be: Will she stay or leave? Will she end up like Erroll if she does stay?

This isn't a horrible film as it does touch on some uncomfortable moral ground, but the story as a whole needed to be tightened up.

P.S. The fact that this movie went straight to DVD and didn't get air time at cinemas in the U.S. is pretty telling. As is the fact that only three other reviews are up here at Amazon.com at the time of my posting. June 17, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...