Tracing a Point Elsewhere

Author(s): Pierre Davis (OH)
Tracing a Point Elsewhere

Directed by the David Cronenberg
Written by David Cronenberg
Produced by David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortenson
Editing by: Ronald Sanders
Cinematography by: Roger Deakins
Music by: Howard Shore

Starring:

Nick Stahl as Sam Stewart
Viggo Mortenson as Paul Mitchell
Paul Dano as James Mitchell
Cate Blanchett as Pamela Mitchell
Jeff Bridges as Frank Johnson
Ian McShane as the Man
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tony

Tagline: When tragedy is before you, you are left Tracing a Point Elsewhere.

Synopsis:

Looking For a Place in Life.
Sam Stewart has been a police detective for a year this month and now he gets a chance to get his first big break when the son of a mayoral candidate becomes missing. His partner is Frank an old man who has been thinking about retiring but always has second thoughts because if he retires then what would become of his life. His wife has left him and his son is off to college and not trying to connect with a father who has always put his career before his family. They begin to interview all of the suspects which include the boy’s father and mother. They also want to ask his best friend a couple questions but he has been missing for a couple of days. Sam begins to wonder if the father is setting this whole thing up for the public to connect with a grief stricken man.

Too Many Thoughts
James has just woke up tied up with his mouth duck taped shut. He see’s a shining light above him and he is in an empty room with a million thoughts racing through his head. What happened last night and where is Tony. Then a blonde haired female and brunette male comes in with surgeons’ masks on with a black bag in one of their hands. The female says one word that sends chills throughout James mind and the word is “scalpel”. The man says, “We will ask you one question and if you give the correct answer then my female friend won’t have to use this scalpel on your pinky finger.” He tightens up his fist only to have it opened by the man. As the female begins to go towards James finger with the scalpel, the man asks “Where is the tape”?

Under Suspect
Paul Mitchell grew up in a small town and always dreamt of a career in politics, wanting to become a mayor and maybe a future president but with the sudden kidnapping of his son his dream is put to aside. His wife Pamela a cancer stricken woman is fighting through chemo and her son missing is making her condition even worse. The police have been questioning Paul more and more everyday as if he has something to do with the kidnapping of his only son. Paul decides to try and put it in his own hands and hire a private eye to try and come up with his son’s kidnapper before it is too late.

Never Focus On the Light
Tony witnesses a shining light from a cars headlight as he is attempting to go to bed after a long night with his best friend James. He can still see the beautiful blonde that he seen in the club. Her eyes lit up the darkness of the dance floor but his shyness kept him from attempting to approach her. The shining light brightens as if the person in the car is just sitting there watching him. When Tony closes his blinds and turns around he sees the female that was in the club. Is this a dream? When he feels a sudden sharp pain go through his whole body he realizes that maybe it isn’t a dream. As he attempts to run to the phone his legs give up on him and he falls. He can’t feel his legs anymore and his arms also. The beautiful blonde looks into his eyes and says, “It was awful rude for you to stare and not approach me.” She pulls out a gun and Tony sees the light that was annoying him for the last time.

Questions
Tape what tape the thought is going through James mind as he is sitting there with his pinky almost gone. When James asks the man what he is talking about he seems to be annoyed and brings out a cell phone. He begins to dial numbers and he puts the phone to James ear and says, “Ask your father.” As the phone is ringing he sees the woman take the scalpel away from his finger to his throat and the man says, “If you say one wrong word then unfortunately my client will forever have to live down the god awful tape.” James asks, “What are the wrong words?” And the man says, “You will know when you begin to see your own blood dripping down your shirt.” As the phone rings there is still no answer and then there is a pick up but it isn’t his father but his mother begging him to tell him what is going on. He begs her to put his father on the phone and when he gets on the phone James asks the same question that is holding on to his life. Dad where is the tape?

Saving a Life
Sam did not see this coming. What kind of tape is putting a mayoral candidate’s son in this kind of danger? Sam gets a phone call from his partner and his partner says that one of his main suspects has just been killed with a single gunshot to the head. As Paul begins to open his mouth and tell the man, different words come out of his mouth Paul says go ahead and kill him. When Paul says this he runs and dives out of the window of the police station and he falls head first to the ground on the streets of Boston.

Selfish
The man gives a frightening look at James and says unfortunately for us our money will not be inside me and my lady friend’s pockets tonight. He takes out a gun and the lady friend stops him. With a sudden relief James sighs and begins to cry only to have the lady friend slit his throat. The last words that James hears is “so selfish” from the man.

Private Eye
Sam tries to find out where the call came from and looks at the cell phone for the last call. He sees where the phone call is coming from and gets a team to head to the place. He rushes over there with his partner meeting up with him. They force their ways into the house hoping that James is not dead. They see James in a chair bent over. They lift his head up only to find that James is actually dead and also discovers an envelope with the words refund on it with almost a thousand dollars inside. Frank pulls out his phone and makes a phone call to his son. Asking him when the next time is they can meet up to talk about whereabouts for his first vacation after retirement.

Tracing a Point Elsewhere
What is this tape and where is it? In the end Frank is trying to find out where the relationship with his son is going to go now that he has given up his first love, Pamela is dying even slower now without her family and Sam is beginning to fall under the same spell that Frank was once under putting the search for the killers and the tape above all else. In the end they are all Tracing A Point Elsewhere.

What the Press Would Say:

Phenomenal and brilliant filming, this is truly one of the best performances by a cast in a long time. They work together so well with every one of them feeding off of each other in every scene. The editing makes the movie gel so well with the moviegoer not having a time to comprehend what just happened in the previous scene. This is a movie that makes you think and finally thinking in movie is a good thing. Nick Stahl is a standout and refreshing breakthrough in a role that was made for him, as the cocky new cop looking for the big case to make his career. But what he was looking for, for so long is something that at the end he really didn’t want. David Cronenberg brings suspense to every scene and without Nick Stahl his incredible screenplay wouldn’t be brought to life. Coming off his first Oscar nod Viggo Mortenson is miserable in this role. But that is what this role is called for. He shows a man who at the beginning had so much confidence and was on top of the world believing nothing could happen to him even putting his career before his Cancer stricken wife. His role is sure to be on every voters mind. Another voter who is sure to be on not just anyone’s mind but in their nightmares is Ian McShane (We Are Marshall) who plays one of the scariest characters seen in recent years. He delivers his lines with a voice that would make sweat go down your whole body in a winter storm. Cate Blanchett shows why she is being hailed as the next Meryl Streep but with this role she is sure to have future actresses compared to her. You can always expect her to deliver no matter what. Every scene that she is apart of is sad because she opens herself up so the audience can feel her pain, feel her loss. Jeff Bridges plays the wise old man very well trying to mentor the new comer so he won’t make the same mistake as putting his career before himself. The scene at the end when he picks up the phone to make a tearful hello to his son makes your insides tingle. The young talents Paul Dano and Joseph Gordon-Levitt rounds out a brilliant cast that is sure to be a serious threat for the S.A.G. award for Best Cast. These young stars are not overshadowed at all and stand out among brilliant actors. This is David Cronenberg masterpiece, even though we all though Eastern Promises could be his defining moment we are proven wrong with Tracing A Point Elsewhere. The film is filmed as clean in the scenes when murder is happening and dirty and grungy in the scenes when the characters are revealing themselves completely. Roger Deakins does a brilliant job at this and should get his long eluded Academy Award. Audiences everywhere will be thrilled with this movie.

Best Motion Picture of the Year: David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortenson
Best Director: David Cronenberg
Best Original Screenplay: David Cronenberg
Best Actor: Nick Stahl and Viggo Mortenson
Best Supporting Actor: Jeff Bridges and Ian McShane
Best Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett
Best Film Editing: Ronald Sanders
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins
Best Original Score: Howard Shore