A Battlefish Prods. presentation. Produced by Richmond Riedel. Co-producer, Rebecca Bitner. Directed, written, edited by Richmond Riedel.
With: Eric Dean, Aaron Hawk, Joey Lanai, Solomon Hoilett, Eltony Williams, Bill Elverman, Richard deGuilio, Daniel Rosenberg.
When a group of fishing buddies stumble upon a terrorist cell-in-training, politics give way to pure, unadulterated action in Richmond Riedel's impressively mounted "Target Practice." Though it's never more than a low-budget thriller that occasionally stumbles when its characters stop moving and talk, this is a helming debut engineered with confidence and exceptionally skillful editing. Regional fests should take notice, and a careful distrib could provide a brief theatrical window before tube and vid shots.
Initial impression is that a "Deliverance"-type storyline will play out, given the generally solid, middle-class makeup of the fishing party, some assuring their wives they'll be back soon, and all of them bickering with each other in the SUV driven by Dave (Bill Elverman). Riedel's script tends to slot his men into types, particularly bigoted, hard-hearted Paul (Joey Lanai) and whiny Mark (Eric Dean), who could be read as gay without the film stating as much.
But once the guys stop to check what seems to be a roadside vehicle in distress, the action becomes all, and Riedel, a vet Hollywood editor, shows his manifest chops with a relentless pace and astute storytelling. Different reference points from "Deliverance" soon take over, including the terrific, taut WWII TV series "Combat!", Fox's "24" and Ti West's "Trigger Man," another ultra-indie about innocent outdoorsmen being gunned down.
West's film was all the more disturbing in refusing to provide a motive; Riedel's film insists on naming the enemy as an Al Qaeda training camp deep in the forest (which looks very much like the Mt. San Jacinto area in Southern California). After a bloody attack leaves Mark and a wounded Steve (Aaron Hawk) together, and Paul alone and on the run, pic alternates between the two sides in a vicious cat-and-mouse chase in the mountainous woods.
The seemingly weaker Mark asserts himself as a leader, much to Steve's surprise, and Paul is forced to work with a black CIA undercover agent (Solomon Hoilett), who has infiltrated the cell and is about to bring it down. Pic's juggling of PC thematics and post-9/11 fears follows the "24" strategy of playing to both rightward and leftward viewers, though the juggling here is often too obvious by half.
Pic never lets up, though, and certain twists are quite brilliantly pulled off, with the bonus of being fairly credible. Key setpieces, including Mark and Steve's discovery of the camp, are extremely tense and executed with great energy, with no guarantees, given the cast of unknowns, that anyone will survive. Flashbacks designed as character backgrounding prove more facile than effective, however.
Whether viewers will completely accept that this particular cell is ready-for-Al-Qaeda-primetime is open to question, though Daniel Rosenberg's cell leader conveys a scary mix of cunning, ruthlessness and smarts. Dean and Hawk struggle with some rancid patches of dialogue, but work nicely in tandem, while Lanai enjoys playing the bigoted Paul.
Financially strapped American filmmakers would be wise to study "Target Practice" for what can be done with minimal crew and cash. Pic maintains technical quality control with sharp lensing (again, by Riedel), action staging (care of stunt coordinator Sean Christopher) and subtle supporting music (Jeff Arwady).
Camera (color, DV), Riedel; music, Jeff Arwady; sound (stereo), Scott Jennings; stunt coordinator, Sean Christopher; assistant director, Christopher. Reviewed on DVD, Los Angeles, July 26, 2008. (In Dances With Films, Los Angeles.) Running time: 97 MIN.
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