Tuesday, 11 March 2014

24: A Solitary Place (2.12)

1979; 48 minutes
Director of Photography John McPherson 
Written by Jim Tisdale/Migdia Varela; Produced by Nicholas Corea
Directed by Jeffrey Hayden

Banner has been living in a makeshift hut in the Mexican woods for a month now, without incident, the solitary existence he finds to be generally something that facilitates the calm required to maintain his more 'human' form.  This is until a woman stumbles into his camp.  She's a doctor who was held responsible for the death of a child on the operating table, and she too is seeking a little solitude from the world and its, or her, problems.  She is also being hunted by the father of the girl who died, who is accompanied by his son and one Jack McGee.  Exaggerating a damaged knee she persuades Banner to let her stay for a few days, but this of course means that her trouble is about to become his trouble...

An unusual premise with David's self-imposed isolation from society taking precedence as he realises that Hell Is Other People.  And just to prove the point, as soon as a woman wanders into his safe bubble, strife begins, even leading McGee right there inadvertently.

Spoiler ahead:  The theme of revenge is turned on its head here as the hunter is about to kill the doctor when a jeep crash causes his own son to become almost fatally injured, and the doctor herself has to save him, thereby redeeming her in the eyes of the would-be killer.  David's problems are not resolved though, and he has to leave behind his month of non-incidence as he heads back out on to the road.

Number of Fists: ****

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