‘Feedback’ VOD Review (Amazon Prime)
Stars: Eddie Marsan, Paul Anderson, Ivana Baquero, Richard Brake, Oliver Coopersmith, Alexis Rodney, Anthony Head, Alana Boden, Nacho Aldeguer | Written by Pedro C. Alonso, Alberto Marini | Directed by Pedro C. Alonso
The feature film debut from writer and director Pedro C. Alonso, Feedback stars the excellent Eddie Marsan as Jarvis Dolan, a radio personality who encounters a terrible night when the station he works at is terrorised by a group of masked stalkers.
There’s something I get a real kick out of in film, be it survival horror, thriller or drama, is when we spend the length of the film in one single location. That is the case here, with Feedback, with the radio station as our single location. This strong setting along with a top notch cast go a long way into kicking things off strong. There’s a feeling of claustrophobia here, with the atmosphere, as this film grows into something you don’t expect when it starts off. It’s got, however, the twists and turns you might expect from a dark thriller. It’s blood splashed and violent and it does, in many ways, do exactly what you want it to do. It talks about life in Britain, from Brexit to immigration to racism, something not seen too often in film. It doesn’t necessarily say anything shocking or poignant about these issues, but uses them to further the characters and the plot, which is fine, if a little unusual to see. It’s politically charged, yet not quite enough to create a thicker and deeper story. I feel like the political acknowledgements and reality-based opinions turned out to be a little more shallow than they should have. I would have liked to have seen them delve deeper into it all.
I really did like the chosen location. It worked very well and created a closed-in atmosphere. Ángel Iguácel did a marvellous job with the cinematography and the way he shot in the enclosed spaces of the station. The music from Sergio Moure adds a tension to the proceedings too. What about the cast? With a cast featuring fantastic talent like Marsan himself, Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Richard Brake (Hannibal Rising), Paul Anderson (The Revenant) and Ivana Baquero (Pan’s Labyrinth) among others, the performances are very good, perhaps a little too good for the film itself, as much as I did enjoy it. I don’t want to give too much away about the plot of Feedback, but the way it talks about and handles its themes, the way fame and fortune can create an untouchable aura, is done well, and the scenes of violence are top notch. It has enough gore to appease those who dig that kind of thing. I like Marsan a lot, and thought he did a good job as Jarvis Dolan. He was, without a doubt, the best thing about Feedback.
A story of murder, mystery, secrets and lies, Feedback is packed with fine performances and it looks bloody lovely, it just falls a little short when it comes to the handling of the plot. It could, it must be said, have been much much more. I kind of expected it to be a bit more surprising and unpredictable than it turned out to be, and while I did enjoy it, I also felt a little disappointed too. The way the film ends, which I won’t spoil for you or talk about here, left a bitter taste in my mouth and felt like a waste. On a positive note, this is a cool revenge flick with plenty of good ideas going on in its brain, and for just over an hour and a half, I was entertained.
**½ 2.5/5
Signature Entertainment presents Feedback on Amazon Prime Video on March 26th.
