Shea Whigham, Olivia Munn, Bruce Dern and Frank Gallo do their best to keep this slow moving movie alive, and they come up with a pretty good crime drama. The Gateway, a hard hitting crime story with a bit of Deja-vu, works off of one of the most difficult anomalies in America, children at risk. The end credits make the sad statement “In the United States, 250,000 children enter the foster care system every year.” But, the film is pretty good entertainment on Blu-ray and DVD.
“For not an orphan in the wide world can be so deserted, as the child who is an outcast from a living parents love.” Charles Dickens
Social Services officer Parker Jode (Shea Whigham) has a tough day to day job looking in on his cases to see if they are doing their best to take care of their children. It’s a thankless job in the neighborhoods he visits and there’s time when the outcome of the visit turns out to be a loss of life. Magnolia housing projects is the worse area in his district with a lot of poverty and crime. In most cases the child of neglecting parents is taken into custody and turned over to Foster Care. Taking a toll on his past life mistakes, Parker has turned to drugs and alcohol to ease the pain.
Part of his problem involves teenager Ashley (Taegen Burns) one of his charges that has been put into the system due to her father who’s in Jail for drug crime. Recently neglected due to her mother Dahlia’s (Olivia Munn) late night work schedule as a dealer at a casino, Parker has become helpful on occasion by getting her to school. He has become attached to the case feeling sorry for the teen who has been taking care of herself long hours on her own. However, this same day Dahlia’s husband Mike (Zach Avery) gets released from jail and meets with his brother Duke (Frank Grillo), a drug dealer, at a local bar. The two talk about a possible cocaine heist from a local cartel.
Parker, Mike and Ashley’s worlds are about to collide in the worst way. Director Michele Civetta moves his film along at a slow pace developing his characters so his audience knows how they will all fit in at the finale. He has a very experienced cast lead by Shea Whigham and it does an above average of telling the story. The movie may be a bit clichéd and even familiar as most crime dramas seem to be these days, but this one has some meaningful heart as well.
The Gateway has been rated R by the MPAA for strong violence, pervasive language, drug use, some sexual content and nudity. It also has a brief scene of partial nudity. For those that like a crime film that tugs at the heart strings, it’s a good watch.
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Shea Whigham, Olivia Munn, Taryn Manning, Mark Boone Junior, Taegen Burns with Frank Grillo and Bruce Dern
Directed by: Michele Civetta
Genre: Drama, Crime
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, pervasive language, drug use, some sexual content and nudity
Running Time: 1 hr. 31 min.
Original Theatrical Release Date:
Language: English
Reviewed Format: Blu-ray
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Video: 1080p HD, Aspect Ratio 2.00:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Distributed by: Lionsgate
Released on: Blu-ray, DVD
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
