While coming of age stories tend to be one of the most overused story archetypes in all of independent cinema, Felix Thompson's King Jack is a film that manages to elevate itself above most, due in large part to its detailed, complex characterization of its main protagonist. King Jack is about the importance of standing up to oneself and being yourself, sure, but where it's most interesting is its examination of loneliness and the effect it can have on the individual. Centered around Jack, a teenager who is living a life of near solitude, the film's greatest attribute is its ability to capture the vulnerability of loneliness, the angst it can cause, and the overall effect solitude has on any human-being.. A film that understands the importance of nuance and subtlety, King Jack never fully explains the situation in which Jack finds himself in, offering only details related to his damaged relationship with his older brother, the absence of his father, and a mother who is unintentionally neglecting her son due to her busy schedule as the single provider for her family. When Jack's aunt falls ill, his younger cousin Ben comes to stay with them, and the relationship that Jack and Ben form is the strength of the film, in that they are both characters' who feel a sense of dejection from the cruelties of the world. Through this slowly evolving relationship, King Jack captures how detachment by nature is dehumanizing, with Jack's loner status indirectly effecting his ability to form a healthy relationship with his cousin, Ben. The film beautifully captures the angst that can creep into any lonely individual, with Jack being a character who himself struggles at times to form any type of relationship/companionship due to his inherent selfishness, which is fundamentally scoped by his own loneliness. King Jack is far from perfect, as I found many of the characters outside of this main relationship between Jack and Ben feel underwritten and underdeveloped, particularly Jack's Mom & the primary antagonistic bully, but the film still manages to work thanks to the strength of its main characterization. Felix Thompson's King Jack is a great example of the importance of character over all else, being a film that manages to succeed on an emotional and psychological level, regardless of its shortcomings, because of its strong, well-defined central character.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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