Treason

Kyle is a puppet of his father, which will not serve him well in adulthood, but Candice and Savannah are more sensible. They love Grant but are really just “playing government” with him, not entirely aware of how grave his delusions have become (at one point, the family sits down for game night and enjoys a leisurely game of Risk, naturally). Candice seeks out the help of the local pastor in the hope that returning Grant to faith will bring him back down to earth.

A major problem with Treason is the character of Grant. He starts off nuts and stays there. There is a passing mention of Grant having previously lost his job but it is a weak explanation for his behavior and he experiences no character arc to allow the viewer to sympathize with him. The audience just observes and comments on what a wacko he is. Grant is entirely one-note, nothing more than a “type.”

“…Grant…starts off nuts and stays there.”

LeBeau certainly convinces as this type though. He has the authoritarian and commanding presence that lends itself to a faux-dictator such as Grant. Candice is a trickier character since she is simultaneously devoutly religious and reasonably secular. It’s a tough character to play, but Vosylius finds enough of a middle ground to sell it. Center and Rumel, as Savannah and Kyle, are the best actors, displaying the most depth and pathos that make for interesting point/counterpoint to Grant.

Ultimately, I couldn’t ascertain whether Treason wanted to act more as a commentary on the stifling of individual freedoms or a parody of the same thing. The front-end hyperbolic portion of the movie sort of works as a parody until the latter part of the movie suddenly veers it into the deadly serious. This tonal inconsistency, unfortunately, makes finding a point of relativity in the movie a chore and, in the end, meaningless.