Fantastic Fest 2014: EVERLY – The Review

Sometimes a film is centered around a strong female lead. Other times it is centered around a cheap fabrication of that idea. Over the past 10 years we’ve seen so many action films abuse the idea of a “strong female lead.” The RESIDENT EVIL series, the UNDERWORLD series, ULTRAVIOLET (another Millla Jovovich vehicle), and the most guilty film of them all, SUCKER PUNCH. Granted, EVERLY isn’t nearly as guilty as some of the aforementioned films, but it does perpetuate the same stereotype. One where the only way for us to sympathize with our vengeful heroine is to first present her as a flawed and broken woman and then show her overcome personal and physical obstacles.

Salma Hayek plays a woman who has been held captive for over four years in the movie EVERLY. We first meet her after she has been brutally violated (any indication of this is never shown to the audience as her body is completely unmarred and her face still pristine in makeup). Thankfully for her, a phone and a gun are hiding in the bathroom, which sets in motion her escape from the criminal group holding her and other prostitutes hostage in the apartment complex. What keeps her going is the need to survive for her young daughter whose picture she wears around her neck.

Joe Lynch gleefully displays his love for violence as the audience is treated to a number of colorful (well… mainly red) means of death, including shotgun blasts, flesh-eating acid, stabbings, grenade explosions, and katana slashes. Given the fact that his directorial debut was WRONG TURN 2 this should come as no surprise. The violence is frequent and Hayek seems game to deliver it. She disperses each adversary in a strong and confident way, roaring like a warrior woman with each minor victory. A fight early on between Everly and a number of prostitutes who are trying to claim the ransom for her death is orchestrated very well. It’s part Looney Tunes zany, part graphically real. We get to know the character through these mini-battles with the scorned women. The humor and violence blend very well here, but that’s not always the case as the film progresses.

Although it may be mainly out of necessity, having EVERLY staged almost entirely in one room is a clever and ambitious idea. Lynch keeps it exciting by utilizing every inch of the space. It’s a decent action concept but is partially ruined by such cliche dialogue delivered by a standard “action herione” in a risque outfit. How many times do we have to hear Hayek exclaim “Fuck You!” at a villain or “I’m not your whore.” Lynch probably thinks he’s showcasing a strong female role in EVERLY. On paper, the idea of a mother gaining the energy to fight back against oppressive men for the sake of her daughter is in fact a strong statement about feminism and “girl power.” All of this means nothing though when you can’t stop placing Hayek’s womanly curves in a glaring light. Even when Everly performs a mundane task like pulling out a pack of cigarettes from a jacket pocket, the shot is framed in such an obvious way to show off her décolletage. Often we are treated to similar shots, which as a heterosexual male, I did enjoy on an instinctual level. And there in lies my main issue with the film: Joe Lynch attempted to make a violent exploitation film with some heart and humor starring a strong female lead, when in reality he just made another sexually violent film for teenage boys. A film that Paul W.S. Anderson would applaud.

Between the lone location and the shoehorning of the Christmas holiday into the story, EVERLY feels like DIE HARD in a dollhouse. Women in skimpy outfits argue with each other while the guys run the house. Lynch has a knack for showing gory details and creative kills but he shouldn’t try to mask it as something it’s not. It succeeds at being a violent exploitation film for teenage boys. That’s it. Let’s just call it what it is.

Overall rating: 2.5 out of 5