Manslaughter (2012)
7/10
Manslaughter
3 June 2012
Warning: Spoilers
A lot is already said in the other reviews, one better than the other, but every review is a persona view on the movie.

I gave the movie 7 out of 10 because of the acting of Theo (main character) I also loved him in TBS (movie about a form of psychological help (TBS) some criminals get upon their punishment viewed by most people as a means to keep them locked up longer). Theo isn't a real actor, but he's a natural talent for dark, psycho, depressed, and weird guys. The rest of the cast did also pretty good, for Dutch standards.

The other reason I gave the movie 7/10 is the idea and the beginning. People being harassed by youth on scooters is a hot item in the Netherlands. Another hot item is the fact that people don't do anything and rather stand and watch or call the police instead of helping victims.

One of the big reasons for this (cowardly) behavior is events in the past of people who did stand up and fought back were actually treated worse and punished harder than the criminal. That's also the red line in the movie, is Max a hero or a villain.

Recent political shifts towards the right spectrum changed some of the laws. The Justice department is now supposed to punish people who harass the emergency services a lot harder, but police and other services complain there aren't many changes. Another change is that peoples who started as the victim but changed the tides on the criminal aren't arrested anymore and treated like a criminal. They are allowed to stay home and go on with their live but are expected to show up at the court when being called in.

Another realistic part of the movie is the influence of the media, the opinion of Dutch people is very easy manipulated also in real live. There are certain TV-shows which are considered "intelligent" and whatever they say is considered "the truth".

This movie combines all those factors pretty good, but it kinda gets over the top and becomes unrealistic. The movie starts with a message but ends with nothing, I think it's a missed opportunity. A bit as if the director didn't know where to go, serious or just entertainment.

too bad, but still a good movie and I would love to see Theo Maassen in a good psycho thriller again.
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