Movie Review: Indemnity
One-liner: A sharp lead and old school grit compel this serviceable yet over-ambitious man-on-the-run actioner and conspiracy thriller.
Indemnity is a local man-on-the-run action thriller from Travis Taute starring Jarrid Geduld as Theo Abrams. Set in Cape Town, the film journeys with an ex-firefighter struggling with PTSD who wakes up to discover his wife has been murdered. Wanted in connection with a spate of killings across the city, Abrams attracts the police and a mercenary task force. As he tries to stay one step ahead of his pursuants, he draws closer to unlocking the disturbing truth behind a conspiracy with far-reaching implications.
It’s unusual for a full tilt action film to emerge from South Africa, largely constrained by cost. Thanks to several significant partnerships, Indemnity has been given life, adopting a familiar concept and feel to align it with the likes of The Fugitive and Enemy of the State. This ’90s thriller vibration is welcome, taking a grittier approach to action, quite refreshing in the age of superhero spectaculars. A nod to old school action, unfortunately it can’t help but draw comparison – unable to match Hollywood standards in spite of a valiant attempt.
Jarrid Geduld was devastating in Ellen: The Story of Ellen Pakkies playing a drug addict who drove his mother to murder. An actor who’s proven his ability to embody this kind of intensity and conviction, it brings something similar to his role as everyman Theo Abrams. Ordinarily this kind of action vehicle about a family man would star someone like Mark Wahlberg. Taking on a typically dramatic actor, Geduld’s anonymity adds realism, casting adds a natural edge while his gut-wrenching performance upscales the intensity and grounds the character to make every moment more convincing.
While unquestionably committed, maintaining the torment of his inner world and landing punches in the action is a difficult balancing act and does add some distance without more touchpoints to draw empathy. Indemnity could have been more suspenseful if the murder wasn’t so heavily weighted in the hero’s favour and primed as an overt set up. More finesse could have alleviated the sense of contrivance accompanied by the police suddenly descending Minority Report style. Perhaps more self-questioning, scrutiny and taking stock from Theo’s perspective could have tested the veracity of each scenario in his against-the-tide struggle rather than simply going with the flow.
“You won’t feel a thing.”
He’s supported by a broad ensemble including: Nicole Fortuin, Abduragman Adams, Andre Jacobs, Gail Mabalane, Louw Venter and Susan Danford. The characters help establish Theo’s world and compel his volatile psychological journey as he pushes off them but are mostly story devices. Being an action film this is to be expected and while Fortuin’s role as Angela Abrams goes far to ground the film’s emotional integrity, it’s mostly there to get the ball rolling. Other cast members add gravitas in key roles and while Louw Venter’s towering Terminator type role as a villain is good, it’s difficult to tear him away from previous roles. Perhaps more follow-through on the torture would have been the disconnect the actor needed to erase any residue from other genre work.
Indemnity has chosen some eye-catching locations around the Cape metropole, which certainly add to the picture, giving it added production value and scale. Making full use of every world class backdrop, it gathers an international quality. This helps to anchor the deep dive story, which would seem rather ludicrous without the weighting of on-location shooting, subtle visual effects and Geduld’s convincing performance. It doesn’t pay to pick at the seams of Indemnity‘s story and why the conspiracy wasn’t leaked online, making more about popcorn entertainment.
A handsomely mounted action thriller, Indemnity’s largely restrained by stone-skipping storytelling, trying to orchestrate an ambitious overarching vision when a simpler story and more focus would’ve helped tighten things up. Going for full scale action feature film, nuance is sacrificed along the way as scenes don’t get the interrogation they needed. From police interceptions, shortlived suspect interviews, fatal neck wounds, telegraphed action showdowns and physical world anomalies to undersold interludes, there are many gaps that are simply assumed to be true based on what you may have seen in other films.
Indemnity is a promising action crime thriller that shows we have the appetite, locations, actors and crew to craft a high-end action vehicle. Drawing strands from other films, Taute’s film is refreshingly old school in its true grit, able to generate tension and suspenseful action sequences. Armed with a convincing and thoughtful lead performance from Geduld, it holds a rare emotional intensity with flashbacks to further enhance the psychological world of Abrams. Unfortunately, being thrust into Hollywood’s big league is always going to present a challenge and as resourceful and competent as it is, perhaps a less ambitious opening gambit with fewer moving parts would’ve been a wiser aspiration.
The bottom line: Stunted
