“Pawn” is a film that is an exciting crime drama that could have been bloody and serious, but sometimes you don’t need to be that banal or violent and try to give something different, yet enjoyable for the audience. While not the best robbery film made, nor the worst, “Pawn” is an indie crime drama that features an all-star cast and for the most part is enjoyable and a solid directorial debut for cameraman turned filmmaker David A. Armstrong.
TITLE: Pawn
FILM RELEASE: 2013
DURATION: 88 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, 2:40:1 Aspect Ratio, English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
COMPANY: Anchor Bay Entertainment
RATED: R (for Violence, Language and Brief Drug Content)
Release Date: April 23, 2013
Directed by David A. Armstrong
Written by Jay Anthony White
Producer: Michael Becker, Michael Chiklis, Brad Luff, Jeff Most
Co-Producer: Shari Lane Bowles, Re’Shaun Frear, Andrew Hunt, Leigh Scott
Executive Producer: Jonathan Bennett, Jeff Bozz, Pambela Burrus, Cameron Denny, Cynthia Guidry, Lainee Guidry, Jeff Rice
Associate Producer: Joshua P. Dease
Music by Jacob Yoffee
Cinematography by Keith Dunkerly
Edited by Jordan Goldman
Casting by Shannon Makhanian
Production Design by Russell M. Jaeger
Art Direction by Carl Hoagland
Set Decoration by Susan Barrett
Costume Design by Tiffany Welt
Starring:
Ray Liotta as Man in the Suit
Nikki Reed as Amanda
Forest Whitaker as Will
Marton Csokas as Lt. Barnes
Sean Faris as Nick
Jessica Szohr as Bonnie
Michael Chiklis as Derrick
Stephen Lang as Charlie
Paul Jude Letersky as Sniper
Common as Jeff Porter
Academy Award- winner Forest Whitaker and Golden Globe- winner Michael Chiklis reunite for the first time since “The Shield” for the most gripping crime thriller of the year: An all-night diner. A cop walks in on a robbery in progress. But what happens next – and what happened just before – will change everything you think you know. Now the building is surrounded. There are fingers on every trigger. And one very intense hostage situation is about to take some extremely shocking twists. Common, Stephen Lang, Nikki Reed, Jessica Szohr and Ray Liotta co-star in this shotgun blast of a drama about last chances, double-crosses and a deadly game of dirty deals where anyone can be a PAWN.
David A. Armstrong is usually known for working behind-the-scenes as a cameraman for the “Saw” films but this time, the cinematographer becomes a director for the film “Pawn” written by Jay Anthony White (“Project 313”).
The independent film features an all-star cast which include Forest Whitaker (“Platoon”, “The Last King of Scotland”, “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai”), Ray Liotta (“Goodfellas”, “Smokin’ Aces”, “Hannibal”), Michael Chiklis (“The Commish”, “The Shield”, “Fantastic Four” films), Nikki Reed (“Twilight” films, “Chain Letter”), Martin Csokas (“Lord of the Rings” films, “XXX”), Sean Faris (“Never Back Down”, “Freerunner”), Jessica Szohr (“Gossip Girl”, “Piranha”), Stephen Lang (“Avatar”, “Conan the Barbarian”, “The Men Who Star at Goats”) and Common (“Wanted”, “Smokin’ Aces”, “Terminator Salvation”).
“Pawn” revolves is set in a diner owned by Charlie (portrayed by Stephen Lang) which is being robbed by British gunmen led by Derrick (portrayed by Michael Chiklis). From each character inside the diner, we get to learn about their backstory.
For Nick (portrayed by Sean Faris), he has been released from prison for grand theft auto and is picked up by his pregnant wife Amanda (portrayed by Nikki Reed). The first thing that Nick has to do is get his life back in order as he has a child coming and so he wants to meet with his brother Patrick (portrayed by Jordan Belfi). So, he goes to the local diner where his friend Bonnie (portrayed by Jessica Szohr) works. After his meeting with Patrick, Nick was in the bathroom when the restaurant was being held up and we see him calling the police.
Meanwhile, we watch as a police officer named Will (portrayed by Forest Whitaker), is a local who occasionally visits Charlie’s diner. Unbeknown to Will, the gunmen are hiding in the restaurant, waiting for the officer to make his move. Suspecting that something bad is going on, we see Will going into the bathroom and making a call to Lt. Barnes (portrayed by Marton Csokas). It is revealed that Will’s intention was to get a harddrive with incriminating information on crooked police officers in the city. But when he hears Nick, Will finds out that the place has been held up by gunmen and Nick probably heard his entire conversation with Lt. Barnes. So, as Will tries to kill Nick, the leader of the gunmen, Derrick shoots and kills Will, while Nick who was shot, suffers from a flesh wound.
As the gunmen try to steal the money from Charlie’s safe, they find out it’s on a timed safe and so the gunmen decide to stay and wait until the safe can be opened. Meanwhile, the police have surrounded the building and leading the standoff is officer Jeff Porter (portrayed by Common) who gets into an argument with Lt. Barnes, who tries to make decisions without talking with Porter. When Porter is able to negotiate for a hostage release, Nick is told to bring the lady out but to come back or else his friend Bonnie would be killed. But by going out, Nick’s identity is revealed and Lt. Barnes makes an assumption that Nick is working with the gunmen and their sole goal was to get the harddrive.
So, in retaliation, Lt. Barnes has a man (portrayed by Ray Liotta), pretend he’s a police officer and pick up Nick’s pregnant wife Amanda and take her to an undisclosed place. When he has Amanda call the diner through a private line, he has Nick speak to his wife and then gives him 30 minutes to get the harddrive or else, his wife will be killed. It is then revealed that Nick’s brother Patrick is also in law enforcement and is working to bust corrupt police officers.
With time running out and big decisions needing to be made, who will make the first move…Nick, the swat team or the gunmen?
VIDEO:
“Pawn” is presented in 1080p high Definition (2:40:1 aspect ratio).   The majority of the film takes place in a diner and while picture quality is good and details are also good during close-ups, aside from detail of clothing textures, the scenes definitely look a bit on warm side. But for the most part, picture quality in HD is very good and cinematographer Keith Dunkerley (“Paranormal Activity 3”, “Matchstick Men”) did a good job on focusing more on character reactions, closeups and capturing the emotions of the characters.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Pawn” is presented in English Dolby TrueHD 5.1. While the film is primarily dialogue driven, there are some scenes which showcase gunshots and sirens and are better utilized through the surround channels. But for the most part, “Pawn” is a dialogue-driven film and is primarily front and center-channel driven. The lossless soundtrack was good but not immersive as most of the film focuses more on dialogue.
Subtitles are in English and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES
“Pawn” comes with the following special features:
- Pawn: Behind the Scenes – (23:08) Interviews with the cast of “Pawn” and discussions about their character and working on with the other star talents in the film.
EXTRAS:
“Pawn” comes with both the Blu-ray and DVD version of the film.
Usually when it comes to films with a large cast and involves a holdup, I realize there have been quite a few of those storylines on television.
From the 2007 TV series “The Nine” about how a group of people are dealing with life after being held hostage inside a bank and also being accused of assisting the gunmen, to the 2008 film fragments which starred Forest Whitaker about a group of individuals who were in a diner having a normal day until a gunman came inside and started shooting people for no reason before killing himself and how others dealt with the post-traumatic stress.
While there have been TV series and films about holdups, fortunately with David A. Armstrong and Jay Anthony White’s “Pawn”, what appears to be a normal hold up of a diner turns out to be two crimes being committed at the same time.
One features three gunmen trying to steal money from the safe, while another group of bad police officers who are trying to steal a harddrive from the safe with incriminating evidence of corrupt police officers.
And your protagonist is not some John McClane “Die Hard” bad ass but a young man named Nick who just got out of prison after serving time for stealing cars. Now trying to be a father and not committing any more crimes and following the path on the right side of the law.
But Nick ends up becoming the point contact between the police and the gunmen and not knowing exactly what the details are of these gunmen, the corrupted police officers think these gunmen are going after the harddrive and thus, they think Nick, a convicted felon is working with the gunmen, so the corrupted police officers kidnap his pregnant wife.
Suffice to say, the film has several twist and turns and while not a high budget film and shot primarily inside a diner, the film makes up with a large number of talent. Immediately looking at the cast list, you see names such as Ray Liotta (as always the mysterious character on the wrong side of the law), Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker, Michael Chiklis (who spent years playing the good guy, now a British bank robber), hip hop artist Common, Stephen Lang, Nikki Reed, Jessica Szohr and many more.
So, the film is practically an exciting, enjoyable popcorn action drama that doesn’t become too violent, nor does it try to do too much. It keeps things simple with a few twists along the way. If I had any problems with the film was its use of talent. For those expecting to see a lot of Forest Whitaker, unfortunately, you’re not going to see much of him.
There are also some plot holes in which I felt there was something building up for the character of Porter (portrayed by Common) and possibly a confrontation with Lt. Barnes. The ending is played out a bit too safely for me, but it was appropriate and I think audiences will be happy with the overall film.
As for the Blu-ray release, for an indie film, there is good detail when it comes to clothing textures and close-ups. While picture quality is good, the lossless soundtrack is primarily dialogue-driven with a few moments of gunshots and ambiance coming through the surround channels. And you get one “making of” special feature. Also, as an extra, you also get both the Blu-ray release and a DVD version of the film.
Overall, “Pawn” is a film that is an exciting crime drama that could have been bloody and serious, but sometimes you don’t need to be that banal or violent and try to give something different, yet enjoyable for the audience. While not the best robbery film made, nor the worst, “Pawn” is an indie crime drama that features an all-star cast and for the most part is enjoyable and a solid directorial debut for cameraman turned filmmaker David A. Armstrong.
