There's nothing like a good murder mystery, so when a friend recommended a little-known film called "Remedy," I decided to pick up the DVD and settle in for some intrigue. I was not disappointed. Our protagonist is Will Bentley (Christian Maelen, who also directs), an artist who just might be able to sell some paintings if he could spend more time with paintbrush in hand rather than needle in arm. His girlfriend Michelle (Candice Coke) would likely party right along with him if not for the fact that she is carrying their child. Will's best friend Josh (Nicholas Reiner, also the screenwriter) manages to help feed his own habit by playing a shell game with other people's money, including his own best friend Will. His biggest creditor is Tom (Nick Aiello, Dannys son). Then there's Evan (Jon Doscher), who provides a bit of comic relief as a coke-addled dentist who has his nose in everybody else's business, literally. Of course, a bevy of beauties weaves in and out of their lives, and former Kiss-man Ace Frehley (yes, really) is frighteningly brilliant as Will's supplier Johnny.
When Josh is mysteriously knocked off, with Will passed out on a bench nearby (or was he?), the whodunit proceeds and everyone is suspect. Enter Arthur Nascarella as Detective Lynch, who takes charge of both the investigation as well as the film. He owns it from the moment he appears on screen. Character development here is well-paced and unhurried, so from the moment the crime is committed and Lynch has to put the pieces together, it's easy to rank our likely culprits. And so the fun begins.
Make no mistake about it, this is an indie in the true sense of the word. The characters drive the story, and the story drives the film. Maelen is one sharp director. He sits back and lets his actors do the work, as good directors do. There's not a lot of hand-held, no distracting camera angles, no rapid-fire edits -- just let the acting and the story fill the screen without resorting to dazzling visual effects. When needed, they're pretty convincing. Not that I know what a drug OD looks like. But it sure was believable.
Production values belie the film's shoestring budget, and with this cast of veteran character actors it's hard to go wrong. But most of all, the story is compelling. It held my interest right up until the jaw-dropping conclusion. It has all the elements of the best crime dramas and it delivers. If you're looking for a neat little whodunit to curl up to, this just might be the "Remedy" for you.
