Haunted by torturous childhood memories, Nate Williams finds himself engulfed in darkness. When his drama teacher, Mr. Deen bails him out of jail and takes him in, Nate must confront his past before it leads to his own destruction.
Chuck says:
At 8 years-old, Nathan Williams went through something no one should have to endure. He saw his abusive father kill his mother and then kill himself. With no family to take him in, he floundered about in the foster care system, before setting out on his own in high school. Unbeknownst to his peers and teachers, he was living in his car, scrounging for food wherever he could find it and joined the school track team, just so he could use the locker room showers.
Damian Harris’ “Brave the Dark” takes an unflinching look at Williams’ experiences as well as his road to recovery, a one-step forward, two-steps back journey in which the young man couldn’t get out of his own way to save himself. Fortunately, one of his teacher’s took notice, extending a lifeline the boy was reluctant to grab, yet ultimately yielded.
On the surface, Williams (Nicholas Hamilton) seems to be just another high schooler. A bit distant, he is beginning to excel on the track team, does reasonably well in his classes and has a girlfriend (Sasha Bhasin) who cares for her. That he’s able to hide that he is homeless from them all is a minor miracle. However, a lie as big as this can’t stay hidden. Desperate and short of money, he agrees to rob a local electronics store with two friends. They’re eventually caught and when no one comes forward to post Williams’ bail, his secret is revealed.
Upon hearing the news, all of Williams’ teachers write him off, except for his English instructor, Stan Deen (Jared Harris). A bachelor, the veteran educator is grieving the recent death of his mother, his loneliness affecting his usual positive outlook. Sensing he may be able to connect with his student, he visits Williams in jail and decides to take a chance on the troubled young man.
The script by Dale Bradley, Lynn Hay and Harris is smart in the way it doesn’t sugarcoat the situation, recounting Williams’ struggle to come to terms with his trauma. Reticent to talk, his self-destructive actions speak for him. He questions Deen’s motives throughout, certain no one could care for him enough to be altruistic towards him, his anger getting the best of him, his behavior sabotaging his best intentions at every turn.
Dealing with his past is something Williams must sneak up on, taking baby steps on his way to facing his demons before attempting to heal. Not fully disclosed at first, a series of flashbacks are used to reveal the events that damaged him, Harris walking a fine line in recreating the horror of the situation but doing so as tastefully as possible. This approach puts us firmly in Williams’ shoes, the director creating a vicarious experience that allows us to share in this arduous and ultimately rewarding process.
The key to making films of this sort successful is simply allowing the story to tell itself. Harris and his cast know this and succeed in bringing a sense of sincerity to the film that prevents it from becoming overly maudlin or melodramatic. A swelling score to inform the viewer how to feel, overly sincere line readings and other overtly sentimental devices calculated to move the audience are absent. As such, “Brave the Dark” does Williams and his story justice, the film’s inspirational message emerging as a genuine by-product of a story sincerely told.
3 Stars
