In Tyler Michael Jamesā feature debut, Low Life, a YouTuber who catches predators online goes too far in his quest for vigilante justice.
When we first meet small-time YouTube star Benny Jansen (Wes Dunlap), heās doing what he does best. Heās on camera, flashing his biggest smile and oozing charisma as he lies in wait for a paedophile heās arranged to meet. Of course, they donāt think theyāre meeting Benny. They think theyāre meeting an underage girl, and Benny takes incredible satisfaction in exposing them to the world in his videos. Thatās an average day for him, catching and exposing the predators that the police donāt prosecute.
Itās all pretty simple, until the night he lets one of them into his own home. Teenage superfan Nicole (Lucy Urbano) is suspicious of her best friendās dad, and puts Benny under pressure to catch him as quickly as possible.
The vast majority of the story that follows is set in one room, as Benny and his reluctant friends attempt to trick Jason (Lucas Neff) into confessing on camera. The film is hampered a little bit by the amount of time it spends in Bennyās house, and starts to feel a bit one-note at times, but the scenario is set up skillfully to add tension and time pressure. Weāre left feeling uncertain about how the night will end and whether Benny will manage to catch him out.
However, the game of cat and mouse that unfolds isnāt one where Benny tries to outwit Jason, but one where he tries to say the most disgusting things to get him on side. This isnāt particularly exciting ā it feels an example of a film trying to get your attention through shock factor.
Throughout all of this, though, Wes Dunlap gives an excellent performance. Heās exceedingly charismatic, but is also great at showing the cracks in Bennyās mask, leading us to believe thereās an ulterior motive keeping him going. One of the best things this film does is make him a character of questionable morality. It would be easy to see Benny as a good guy doing a good thing out of the kindness of his heart, but
Low Life wants to dig into his psyche more than that.
Itās not just a story about vigilante justice, but about the hypocrisy often involved in it, and the type of people that engage in it. Benny acts like his cause is righteous and heās beyond reproach, yet his morals quickly become flexible when it comes to his methods. As things spiral out of control, the film heads into more typical crime thriller territory.
This is where it becomes a bit more generic. From the moment the situation slips out of Bennyās control itās painfully clear how the movie must end, and the air comes out of it a little. What begins as an interesting premise on the morals of vigilante justice slopes off in a more conventional direction.
Going spoiler-very light, there seems to be an attempt to liven things up and escape the shackles of the one room setting for an explosive finale, but it doesnāt quite fit. Thereās even a mini (in terms of scale, not the make of the car) car chase, but the same problem. Itās an ambitious way to try to end the film, but itās feels too easy to see where things are going. But still, if you donāt mind a bit of predictability this is a solid crime thriller, and Wes Dunlap is excellent as complex protagonist Benny.
Low Life screened at the Raindance Film Festival.
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