Back in 2004, before he decided to make a mixed bag of comedy and horror films (Your Highness, The Sitter, recent Halloween reboots) and excellent HBO comedies (Eastbound & Down, Vice Principals, The Righteous Gemstones), writer/director David Gordon Green was a film festival and movie snob darling. His debut film George Washington remains a masterpiece, while his forays into artier fare like All The Real Girls are also outstanding. Along those lines is 2004’s Undertow, a white trash, Southern Gothic art film with heavy nods to Night Of The Hunter.
The film stars Dermot Mulroney as John Munn, a father of two (brothers played by Jamie Bell and Devon Allen) who is mourning the loss of his wife and the boys’ mother. Seeking a fresh start, the trio moves to a farm in rural Georgia. There, the boys meet their uncle Deel who they never knew existed—for good reason, as this slow-burn story unveils family angst and potential dangers. The A.V. Club’s Jesse Hassenger praised the film as saying, “Green shoots this stuff beautifully in his lyrical, Malick-influenced style, but he’s especially undervalued as a dialogue writer.”
