Donkey (2010)
58KDonkey (2010). 1h 30m
“With a budget of $5k dollars, howu0026#39;d they get an actor the caliber of Adam Beach involved? That was the first itch I wanted to scratch. Howu0026#39;d they even get a working script for that? Had to be a college class project. Right? Hand-held camera, a mocumentary shot without a script on a lark, something like that. Blair Witch Project, grist for the fad mill maybe.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStill – Adam Beach? So I found a copy and watched. It surprised me – far from an embarrassment, the movie actually worked. As a story, it was stuffed full of every trope you could think of (what, they should u0026quot;be originalu0026quot; on a $5k budget? really?) but it all jostled together in a way that made sense. Plus, there were some very well acted death scenes, and nicely played supporting parts, and at the end I had the weird feeling Iu0026#39;d just seen what happens when a spaghetti western meets Hamlet at Milleru0026#39;s Crossing. And Iu0026#39;m pretty sure thatu0026#39;s the kind of feeling the makers wanted to leave.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eVisually it was muddy, forgivable on that budget maybe, but I took off some points for not trying to correct it with high contrast development or something. The writing was full of familiar memes, sure. Call u0026#39;em clichés if you want to sneer. But the thing is, it entertained me when I expected it would put me to sleep. Thatu0026#39;s worth 5 points right there. Another point for the actors, who gave the material respect and pulled out some pretty intense moments as a result. A budget in the millions wouldnu0026#39;t have done what simple respect did. So a point for the actors, who not only knew to do that but then pulled it off.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eUltimately, I had fun watching it. Thatu0026#39;s worth another point by itself, so I just changed my rating from 6 to 7. It wonu0026#39;t pull a Sundance Spirit Award but Iu0026#39;ve enjoyed megabuck movies a whole lot less. Recommended with popcorn and cheerful suspension of disbelief.”
