Writer/director Dito Montiel broke out with “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” a decade ago, but ever since, he’s struggled to inspire the same acclaim. This state of affairs is certainly not due to lack of talent who have signed up to work with him, including folks like Al Pacino and Juliette Binoche in “The Son Of No One,” Channing Tatum for multiple film (‘Saints,’ ‘No One,’ and “Fighting“) and even Dwayne Johnson (“Empire State“). And yet nothing has connected commercially or critically since. And so it goes with “Man Down,” which is finally landing in cinemas well over a year since it debuted at the Venice Film Festival.
Shia LaBeouf, Jai Courtney, Kate Mara, Clifton Collins, Charlie Shotwell and Gary Oldman comprise a once again impressive ensemble for this tale about a young man who returns home from the Iraq War and whose search for his family goes down a dark path. Here’s the official synopsis:
When U.S. Marine Gabriel Drummer (Shia LaBeouf) returns home from his tour in Afghanistan, he finds that the place he once called home is no better than the battlefields he fought on overseas. Accompanied by his best friend Devin Roberts (Jai Courtney), a hardnosed marine whose natural instinct is to shoot first and ask questions later, he searches desperately for the whereabouts of his estranged son, Jonathan (Charlie Shotwell) and wife, Natalie (Kate Mara). In their search, the two intercept Charles (Clifton Collins), a man carrying vital information about the whereabouts of Gabriel’s family. As we revisit the past, we are guided in unraveling the puzzle of Gabriel’s experience and what will eventually lead us to finding his family.
“Man Down” opens on December 2nd.
