Disappearing in America

This is a low budget film of an intense yet simple tale, mired in blood and hopelessness. Sean, a young man must leave his wife, child - his life in Ireland after a planned IRA bombing goes wrong. In a shady deal he's smuggled to San Francisco to disappear into America, but first be stripped of his accent, his language, his past and his identity. Kept in an unfurnished apartment doubling as prison cell, Sean (and the viewer) begins to realize that those who are hiding Sean don't necessarily have his best interest at heart, and soon his life is further jeopardized when his unscrupulous captors use him to conduct money bag hand offs with Asian warlords. The only kindness Sean receives is at the hands of the daughter of the leader.

A side story of the budding friendship between Sean and the leader's daughter relieves some of the tension, but the hopelessness of the situation remains at the forefront of every frame.

Decent performances from most of the cast, particularly the always reliable Mark Pellegrino, as the evil bodyguard whose facade exhibits a helpful gentility that never quites hides the heartless beast beneath. Likewise, David Polcyn beautifully captures Sean's panic, fear, anger and sense of betrayal, never knowing what to expect from one minute to the next.

Slowly paced, taking place almost entirely in a single room, only so-so sound this film - almost unrelenting in its tension - will not appeal to everyone, but certain viewers (like me) will find the effort pays off and will leave them thinking about not just the film, but the nature of its story. That is reward aplenty.