Snitch Review

• 12th Jun 2013

John Mathews is a father whose affluent, surburban lifestyle is irrevocably destroyed. Through the most innocuous of actions, accepting a parcel from a friend, his son Jason (Rafi Gavron) is sentenced to ten years on a first time drugs offence. Susan Sarandon plays a US attorney who agrees to reduce the sentence is John can find them a bigger arrest, but as the stakes get higher, John becomes a pawn between a drug cartel and the US Attorney’s office. John has to find a way to navigate all of the players, get his son out of prison and ensure his family’s survival.

Over the last few months, I’ve been posted to more than my fair share of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnsons films and have noticed that he’s actually not that bad an actor and he’s certainly improving. Coming across as warm, affable and rather sincere in interviews, this role is well within his range – a blue collar worker and family man. He is suitably out of place in the drug world and the State Attorney’s Office. It also really helps that The Rock isn’t built like a Transformer and is starting to resemble something close to a human being.

The film works because it’s grounded in reality with a solid script. There’s plenty of exposition on the sentencing laws and it’s a great piece of informative cinema, both educating and entertaining an audience around Jason age. At times it feels a bit like a government sponsored warning statement to middle class kids who bite off more than they can chew.

I also applaud the choice of soundtrack. Instead of an all-guns blazing, amped up, fast and furious style soundtrack, you get something considered and instrumental. It ties into the idea that this is an ordinary family who are reacting to extraordinary circumstances. It also features a good old fashioned car chase and some great stuntwork – in an age of CG effects blasting right and left, it’s nice to see a little hard graft and real explosions.

Looking through the production team, its no surprise that the producers hail from End of Watch and Ides of March, two extremely well-researched and considered films. Based on a true story, this punches above a drug thriller and it’ll leave you with plenty think about.

Maliha Basak