The Hunting Party (DVD)

With his comedic political thriller The Hunting Party, writer/director Richard Shepard has made an interesting, albeit severely flawed movie. Just as frustrating as it is rewarding, this is a movie that always seems to be on the brink of brilliance, but ultimately never manages to quite live up to its full potential.

Beginning with a rather lengthy pre-credits sequence that more or less sums up the film's strengths and weaknesses, The Hunting Party introduces us to the two protagonists of Simon and Duck (Richard Gere and Terrance Howard) in their element. These fellas are two journalists who have made names for themselves covering war, and they're on top of their games. They lead the lives of wealthy, award-winning playboys, and are the absolute best at immersing themselves in horrible, violent conflicts throughout Eastern Europe. Shepard captures these scenes in a style incredibly reminiscent (some may say derivative) of Goodfellas. His use of rock music lends a sarcastic tone to the proceedings, and his hand-held camera ably amps up the intensity. Unfortunately, Shepard is not capable of perfectly aping Scorsese's style.

Duck's narration, one the film's biggest flaws, attempts to add a darker, more complex feel to the movie, but ultimately falls flat. It does little more than state the obvious, and manages to successfully kill all momentum whenever it pops up. The Hunting Party is far too smart and well-acted (Gere in particular is incredible), to have to rely on this kind of crutch to communicate emotional subtext.

The film's biggest misstep is its ultimate refusal to go all the way. The subject mater is obviously politically charged, and if handled properly, could make for a very effective film. The problem is that it is not confrontational enough for its own good, and its politics are largely reduced to mere mumblings. There are several moments in which the movie feels like its finally building towards its big "this is fucked up" moment, but always shies away. This greatly harms the movie, and keeps it from ever being more than just entertaining with a few good performances. If Shepard had decided to pursue his politics with more intensity, The Hunting Party could have been truly special. Instead, its rather timid approach relegates it to the status of a rather competent, fairly typical thriller.

If you've come to The Hunting Party expecting a disc full of great features, then I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is hardly anything worth watching. Shepard's commentary is just as plain as most commentaries recorded these days, and the deleted scenes were rightly excised. The best features on the disc are the original article the film is based on, and an interview with the real journalists. They are both informative and entertaining, and give us an idea of what could have been.

The Hunting Party is by no means a bad movie, and is actually very enjoyable. The main reason that I've been so hard on it is because it had the potential to be absolutely fantastic. I'm convinced that there's a great movie in there somewhere, but what appears to be an attempt to achieve a more mainstream appeal has buried it. Instead of being a must-own, The Hunting Party is just a must-rent.