Incendiary (2008) [Blu-ray]
Drama | Romance | Thriller

London is rocked by a shocking terrorist bombing in this dramatic thriller starring Michelle Williams (Deception, Brokeback Mountain) and Ewan McGregor, (Trainspotting, Star Wars trilogy). Williams delivers a riveting and heart-felt performance as a young wife and mother who suffers a devastating loss in the attack...which occurs while she's meeting her secret lover (McGregor). Wracked with guilt and trying to piece her shattered life back together, she becomes embroiled in the police investigation of the attack - and discovers that the authorities will do anything to cover up the terrifying truth behind it.

User Comment: Gordon-11 from Hong Kong, 18 April 2009 • This film is about a woman who lost her husband and son in a terror attack. Her life goes into a mess as she deals with her loss and hunts for the truth.

I have mixed feelings for "Incendiary". On one hand, it is beautifully shot. Every scene is nicely planned and constructed. Camera work is great too. On the other hand, the plot is confusing and strange. The pacing is excruciatingly slow, with a lot of repetitive scenes (such as London burning).

I also think "Incendiary" is not focused enough, as it tries to deal with too many topics including grief, guilt, quest for truth and the road to healing. If the filmmakers only focused on grief and guilt, without the subplots of the anti-terrorist guy or the suspect's family, I would have enjoyed the film more. Despite of Michelle Williams' superb acting, I find "Incendiary" disappointing and boring.

Summary: Beautifully shot but slow and unfocused.

User Comment: dave-sturm from Baltimore, 7 July 2010 • This movie so wants to be an epic drama about the failure of terrorism to stifle the human spirit in the face of mankind's determination to ... uh ... have more babies and ... uh, make uplifting music and, uh .... babies' cries drown out hate and ... uh ....

I don't want to mock this well intentioned movie too much. For one thing, Michelle Williams delivers a ferocious performance as a wife and mother whose grief will not be denied.

Williams is simply "young mother." She has a boy toddler and a husband on the police bomb squad who comes home exhausted every night and falls asleep in front of the TV watching his soccer team, Arsenal.

One night, she tucks hubby in on the couch and goes down to the local pub. There, she meets a reporter and they click. She is sex starved. They have sex.

Next day, hubby takes the boy to the stadium for an Arsenal game, giving "young mother" an opportunity for another liaison with reporter. The two liaise, and are well into sex with the TV on the Arsenal game when a terrorist bomb explodes in the stadium, killing thousands, including her husband and boy.

She races to the scene. Debris falls on top of her. She wakes up in the hospital covered in lacerations. As she heals, and gets out of the hospital, she goes on a quest. She is consumed with rage and guilt.

This is an incredibly good scenario to begin a movie and it has a powerful actress to carry it forward, but somewhere along the way it decides it does not want to be a thriller or a melodrama or even a conventional drama, but an inspirational Hallmarkian story about the triumph of love.

OK, maybe the cries of a newborn English baby will drown out the rants of mad dog jihadists. Or, perhaps, political issues are involved. Hmmm.

Summary: From melodrama to touchy-feely.

[CSW] -3- From grief to near madness and back. This movie is a bit unfocused in developing a strong plot but rallies at the end. Not for everyone but ok by me.

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