Fierce People

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Fierce People

63% Liked It
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Fierce People

Anton Yelchin, Chris Evans, Diane Lane, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Perkins, Kristen Stewart

Sixteen-year-old Finn (Anton Yelchin) wants nothing more than to escape New York and spend the summer in South America. But Finn's dreams are shattered when he is arrested in a desperate effort to hel...( read more  read more... )p his drug-dependent mother, Liz (Diane Lane). Determined to get their lives back on track, Liz moves the two of them into a guesthouse on the vast country estate of her ex-client, the aging aristocratic billionaire, Ogden C. Osbourne (Donald Sutherland). While Liz battles her substance abuse and struggles to win back her son's love and trust, Finn falls in love with Osbourne's beautiful granddaughter, Maya (Kristin Stewart), befriends her charismatic older brother, Bryce (Chris Evans), and even wins the favor of Osbourne himself. But when a shocking act of violence shatters Finn's ascension within the Osbourne clan, the golden promises of this lush world quickly sour. Both Finn and Liz, caught in a harrowing struggle for their dignity, discover that membership always comes at a price... Contrasting the mores of high society with the blunt savagery of primitive tribes, "Fierce People" takes an inside look at the upper classes, examining the darkness that lurks beneath the surface of good manners. Sporting a biting wit, and featuring charismatic performances from Diane Lane and Donald Sutherland, this unflinching drama exposes the trappings of wealth and privilege, and their overwhelming power to both seduce and corrupt.

Id: 10889446

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Fierce People Recent Reviews
  • dreamfaeries
    August 10, 2009
    dreamfaeries
    Subject matter turned very heavy about halfway into the film, but ends very nicely. I liked it...
  • JDFortuneFan
    March 2, 2009
    JDFortuneFan
    Extremely weird film which works- It's a coming of age drama filled with odd characters and a charming set. The script is well written and the performances are all very good. Fierce People has drama, comedy and tragedy.
  • StaisilD
    September 11, 2008
    StaisilD
    With his chemically dependent mother (Diane Lane) trying to find her soul again, young Finn (Anton Yelchin) is taken away from an ideal summer in the African wilds with his anthropologist father and is forced to travel to the vast estate of billionaire Ogden C. Osborne (Donald Su...( read more)therland) to help his mom sort herself out. At first reluctant to participate in his palatial surroundings, Finn is quick to fall under the spell of the Osborne family (Chris Evans, Elizabeth Perkins, and Kristen Stewart). Learning the ropes of aristocracy, it's only matter of time before Finn comprehends that money and power are only masking the bottomless pain of this seemingly perfect family. Fierce People attempts to offer a criticism of the wealthy in a more explicit manner by making numerous direct comparisons to the lifestyles of the native tribes (seen in videos made by Finn's father). Diane Lane gives a solid performance in her role as Liz, and keeps us guessing about the character by providing new elements with each scene. Donald Sutherland is just splendid as the wealthy Osborne, he is more or less playing the same role that he plays in the television show Dirty Sexy Money, though this film came considerably before. The young cast fares quite well, also. Yelchin is convincing and sympathetic in the lead role, Chris Evans does an interesting alternate version of his Ivy League character from The Nanny Diaries, and Kristen Stewart is quite likable as Finn's girlfriend. Fierce People is an excellent example of films being made for the right reasons. Not because it's going to make everyone rich, and not because it's going to win a plethora of awards. Fierce People exists because it is an interesting story, interestingly told. No need for massive effects, massive sets, massive promotional budget or massive push of Happy Meal toys. It is what it is, a slice of someone's life, who deserves better and learns the hard way that being allowed in to the gates of aristocracy doesn't make one an aristocrat.
  • Redlats
    July 3, 2008
    Redlats
    Are the customs of a rich family like those of a primitive South American band of natives? That is the premise of this movie. There are those in the rich family who stop at nothing to protect their interests. The movie is better than most these days.
  • wbgoose13
    September 15, 2007
    wbgoose13
    Peculiar dramedy takes uneasy turn at its midpoint.
  • neagamb
    November 2, 2009
    neagamb
    "Fierce People" exists because it is an interesting story, interestingly told. No need for massive effects, massive sets, massive promotional budget or massive push of Happy Meal toys. It is what it is, a slice of someone's life, who deserves better and learns the hard way that b...( read more)eing allowed in to the gates of aristocracy doesn't make one an aristocrat.
  • kellanlutzisahotvampire
    October 21, 2009
    kellanlutzisahotvampire
    I like this movie. It was a little graphic, but it was cool.
  • LYNNWOODS04
    October 1, 2009
    LYNNWOODS04
    Interesting none the less..
    LoVe Kristen..
  • tsigur
    September 26, 2009
    tsigur
    Intensely stupid movie that I caught on Sundance (they constantly make me question why I still keep them on my cable package, but then they show a Cassavettes marathon and I renew them). I can't believe that talented actors like Diane Lane and Donald Sutherland read this script a...( read more)nd think it can work (I was wondering if they owed Griffin Dunne something or just thought he was a nice guy). The movie starts out OK (exposition in dialogue is becoming a curse in film today), but then in the middle becomes a mind fuck of a movie with absolutely retarded twists (some of which you see coming a mile away). I am just glad I fell asleep towards the end and awoke to know exactly how this thing would end. Waste of talent all the way around. This is why people should stop smoking weed when they think it's making them a better writer.
  • grimmna
    September 14, 2009
    grimmna
    If you had told me beforehand I'd include it in the same sentence as 'The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys' or 'The Chumscrubber', I'd have laughed and said that was unlikely. But this deserves to be on that short list of dark, quirky, and emotionally moving independent films.

    T...( read more)he movie surrounds Finn (Yelchin) who has to stay home from a South American summer vacation where he was to meet his anthropologist/explorer father for the first time. This is after he is caught with cocaine for his drug addicted and alcoholic mother (Lane), and circumstances have them staying in a guest house at the wealthy sprawling NJ estate of businessman Osborne (Sutherland). While there he falls in love with the billionaire's granddaughter (Stewart), becomes friends with his grandson (Evans), and a number of other sometimes rich and sometimes off-kilter characters.

    There are dark themes and serious contexts (wealth/class issues, human nature issues) present throughout, with spats of dark humour the first half of the film. The second half hits you like a brick wall, and was one of the most shocking and unexpected turns I've enountered in any film, and all but completely abandons the lighter side and humour found in the first hour.

    I always wondered where Yelchin came from, and now I know. This is clearly his break,and the same could be said about Chris Evans and even Kristen Stewart (although this came shortly after Speak). Diane Lane, Donald Sutherland, and Elizabeth Perkins seem to take a backseat to Yelchin and the younger cast, but bring a lot of depth to their roles and the film.

    This movie is a perfect reason not to trust critics and to go with your gut. It's been so long since I've uncovered a movie like this, and given it was out so long without me seeing it, it makes me want to dig around and see what else I'm missing.
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