“Resilience” moves at a slow, realistic pace, drawing viewers into the story by revealing tiny pieces of it rather than spoon-feeding the audience its plot. In other words, it’s a sure-fire disaster for those raised on MTV. Those who don’t suffer from self-induced ADD should prepare themselves for a movie that actually cares about its characters and story, yet doesn’t let anyone off the hook.
Jimmy (Henry LeBlanc) is a man who works in Human Resources for a corporation that’s doing some downsizing. He drinks a lot and sees a shapely prostitute on a regular basis as he likes to pretend he’s cheating on a girlfriend he doesn’t have. A few months ago he helped out his uncle Jeff (Al Rossi), a bit of charity that doesn’t sit well with Jeff’s son Andrew (Steve Wilcox). Andrew is so angered by Jimmy’s transgression that he’s going to ruin the office drone’s life.
To expose any more of the plot would be to lessen the film’s emotional impact. The characters do the wrong things for the right reasons, they act selfishly, and they regret a whole heck of a lot, but at the end of the day some people are made to face the results of their actions and it’s a very unpleasant picture.
It’s rare to see a film these days that moves at such a deliberately slow pace. Paul Bojack, the writer/director, merely hints at what is driving these folks. The audience learns things when Bojack is ready to reveal them, and that keeps you watching. It’s as if the viewers are dropped down into the middle of these people’s lives just to witness a chain of events, and then plucked away as Jimmy finally faces what he’s done. You don’t see his final actions, but you don’t need to. You’ve seen enough.
“Resilience” is definitely not a light summer film. It’s the kind of movie you watch on a rainy Saturday night with a glass of wine and a fire crackling in the fireplace. It’s a film that’s meant to be contemplated, but not discussed. And it’s all about what happens when you take the easy way out. Kudos to Bojack for showing how dangerous that route can sometimes be.
