Title: 20 Years After
Year: 2007
Director: Jim Torres
Starring: Azura Skye ... Sara
Joshua Leonard ... Michael
Nathan Baesel ... David
Reg E. Cathey ... Samuel
Diane Salinger ... Margaret
MPAA Rating: R
Studio: Kooroc Films (US)
Distributor: MTI Home Video
Running time: 95 minutes
Official Website: http://www.mtivideo.com/
Twenty years after the bombs fell and the plagues ran their course the few that remain live in fear and without hope… Azura Skye stars as Sara in this post-apocalyptic tale about a young woman’s journey to deliver the first child born in fifteen years. Sara’s refusal to give up is inspired by a lone voice on her radio - Michael (Joshua Leonard) – who broadcasts dim and distant messages of hope mixed with the music he scavenges from the dead. Forced from her home by drought and relentlessly pursued by those who want her baby, Sara crosses paths with Michael in a cavernous underground refuge of disparate survivors. It is from Three Caves that Michael and Sara will embark on a journey beyond the boundaries of the Southern corridor – and into the unknown.
According to their publicist, that is what 20 YEARS AFTER was supposed to be about. With all around descent to good acting, very good sound, music, lighting & settings and good to excellent directing by Jim Torres, you would think that it might have delivered. However, the old theater adage, “if it ain’t on the page it ain’t on the stage”, comes into play here with a vengeance. Mr. Torres also co-wrote and edited, and that combined with freshman feature directing proves too many hats for him to wear well on 20 YEARS AFTER. There are few Hitchcocks out there anymore and few if any real auteurs. For most, just directing is enough.
In the vein of (and at times borrowing from) films such as Children of Men (2006), 28 Days Later (2002), Mad Max (1979), cult classic A Boy and His Dog (1975) and television series such as Jericho (2006), 20 YEARS LATER tries to portray a more intellectual side on those themes; but it suffers from a lack of focus. Whose story are we trying to follow? Is it Sara’s, Michael’s, Sara’s mother Margaret (Diane Salinger), David (Nathan Baesel) or? You get the picture. Too many journeys, too little time, too small a budget and not enough character development. The editing jumps cut so much time and space that when the story conveniently ties all the disparate strings together you are starting to wonder if you even care anymore. Suspense is sacrificed for surprise and by the end it all feels more contrived than coincidental.
The one beacon of light in 20 YEARS LATER is performed by Reg E. Cathey. You might know him best from his role as Norman Wilson on the television series The Wire (2006-2008) His slightly over the top tour de force performance of Samuel, the less than sane history PhD. cum mystic cum sage cum ventriloquist, is priceless and well worth the price of rental alone. With the screen time he is allotted, Cathey is able to develop Samuel into a sympathetic character. You really care about him by the time he is stereotypically killed off. Why do I say that? Let’s make a list of how many heroic African-American sidekicks die before the end of a film. It is all but cinematic shorthand it is so prevalent. Cathey also interjects the only note of comic relief into what is otherwise a rather droll ninety five minutes.
All and all 20 YEARS LATER is a fair effort by a new director that shows his future potential to good measure, pro and con. As for this film, I would recommend that you rent it for reasons mentioned. Just don’t expect a theatrical release performance in a DVD box.
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