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You have to wonder why there aren’t more Bonnie and Clyde type movies out there, especially with the cult classic appeal of films like Natural Born Killers or True Romance. The fact is that these types of films have already been done at their best and there isn’t much else to do within the sub-genre of rebel love flicks. Despite this fact, Hide attempts to put a new spin on the sub-genre, with less than satisfying success.

In Hide, we are introduced to Billy and Bettie, two lowlifes who are madly in love with each other. The two sit at a diner table munching on food and engaging in witty repartee. Eventually, it’s revealed that the two have slaughtered the whole diner and that the cops are on their tail. A shootout lands Billy in jail, and Bettie breaks him out… seven years after the fact. The two are in different places mentally and emotionally and they unite together to find their stashed money and get back to the point they were at before everything went wrong. There are twists all over and the story unfolds in a manner that is semi-surprising, although completely unwanted. Just when you start getting into the characters and their relationship, things get turned on their head, and you’re left with a movie that is too clever for its own good.

Director K.C. Bascombe has some skill behind the camera and his ability to manipulate his audience is impressive. Many of the film’s twists come out of left field, but upon further examination, they were hinted at adequately by Bascombe. The look of the film is disappointing in some areas, mostly when things move a little fast as the film becomes blurry. The pacing is off in the film’s last half and as soon as it ditches its “doomed love” rigmarole, everything begins to fall apart. The “mystery” elements of the film are unwanted… and this is mostly due to the undeniable chemistry between the two stars of the film, Rachel Miner and Christian Kane. The viewer will quite simply want to see the two exist without all the plot related bullshit.

Miner (Tooth and Nail, Penny Dreadful) is her typical awesome self, and fits comfortably into the role of Bettie, a sadistic woman who loves her psychopath man. Miner comes off like a snake disguised as a teddy bear, handing in a performance that is at times sickeningly sweet but at other times completely brutal. Kane starts off slow, but finds his legs after the first twenty minutes of the movie. As soon as he sheds his long-haired butt rocker look, he becomes something more than a dimwitted hooligan. The rest of the cast doesn’t have much to offer, but with Miner and Kane on the screen not much else is required.

The biggest problem with the film is that is spends so much damn time being mysterious. It’s like a boring chick trying to keep a dude interested by not actually telling you that much, and then when you get to know them better, you wind up having to drop their ass like a sack of doorknobs because they are about as interesting as counting the ridges in your fingerprints. It’s a disappointment, especially since the beginning of the film feels like a combination of Natural Born Killers and Pulp Fiction. The switch in tone kills the movie and renders the whole thing rather pointless.

Hide offers some surprises but not enough to make the film worth seeing. If you ever get the chance to see it for free, you may wind up sucked into the thing, but it’s not something you need to go out of your way for… unless you’re a big Rachel Miner fan. Of course, there are like two of those out there… counting myself.

Final Synopsis: The film has some good acting and a great beginning, but it can’t keep it up over the long haul. This is a rent for Miner fans and everyone else can just skip it.

Points Lost: -1 for some less than stellar cinematography, -1 for not being able to keep up the awesomeness of the beginning of the film, -1 for ditching the “rebel love” action for some mystery bullshit, -1 for twists that ruin the whole film

Lesson Learned: Sometimes… people are just plain old crazy.

Burning Question: How long can you stand to listen to someone talk when every other sentence out of their mouth begins with the word “baby?” I’d say like fifteen minutes… then that fucker is getting dropped.

Hide
5/10

Tags: 2008, action, adventure, bonnie and clyde like, christian kane, k.c. bascombe, latest movie reviews, mystery, polly shannon, rachel miner, recent3, thriller