Film Review: 'Donovan Reid'

Late one night, a mute young man (Weston Lee Ball) enters a police station, writing out a note claiming to be Donovan Reid—a young boy who disappeared ten years prior. The news of their son's apparent return is miraculous news to his parents, Hank and Linda (Anthony Martinez and Lydia Revelos), despite the wariness of Detective Schleicher (Mike Schaeffer).

Hank and Linda take Donovan home, with Hank hoping to be able to rebuild his family and get things back to normal. But in actuality, "Donovan" is really a young man named Michael, having escaped from a home of stifling confinement and posed as the missing boy. As Michael deals with his guilty conscience and the increasing suspicions of Detective Schleicher, he'll also come to learn some startling truths about the Reids—and bring a few alarming secrets to light.

When it comes to mystery films, intrigue is something that can be used to great strength in the right hands. It can make for a tense viewing experience, waiting on the edge of your seat as the pieces to the mystery are given to you one at a time, leaving you time to speculate and ponder how they will all come together. Donovan Reid is a film that utilizes intrigue to great effect, revealing its mystery in just the right doses over the course of itself to build strong tension while not stretching itself thin to the point of monotony. The film also routinely flashes back and forth between the present and Michael's past, a storytelling device Donovan Reid also uses to dramatic effect.

Weston Lee Ball stars as the film's main protagonist, and for much of the film, I found myself struggling to get a sense of his acting prowess, given how Michael spends a great deal of the movie silent and emotionless. But in the moments when Michael lets his emotions out, Ball allows Michael to develop into a simultaneously sympathetic and quietly fierce protagonist. Additionally, given how Michael's backstory is revealed in short slivers over the course of the film as part of the intrigue building process, Ball playing Michael with stoic ambiguity is understandable. Anthony Martinez is powerful as a father desperate to put his family back together and shares a silent but strong connection with Ball in their respective roles, and Lydia Revelos similarly throws herself into the emotionally ambivalent Linda.

Jazmine Pierce rivals Martinez in most emotionally fierce performance of the film as estranged Reid family friend Harper, with her introductory scene alone having her throw her all into Harper's emotional response to seeing "Donovan," which is sure to resonate with the audience evenwith her full history with the Reids (at that point) being unrevealed. Pierce continues her powerful performance throughout her appearances in the film, particularly during her scenes alone with Ball, where she is able to make up for Michael's characterization leaving Ball with little to do other than be a stoic and ambiguous slate. Mike Schaeffer and Kimberly Kalember (the latter of whom plays an integral character from Michael's backstory who I won't divulge here) also make impacts in their respective roles, with both of them playing their scenes in a way where multiple layers are added to them once all is revealed.

Donovan Reid also boasts strong use of cinematography, with the film juxtaposing its foreboding story against a beach side town that one would normally associate with peace and serenity. The film's ultimate down point ends up being their main star, with Donovan Reid's story and deliberate sense of pacing making it hard to tell if the fault lies with the script or with Weston Lee Ball's performance. While most films would prove a flop if their main star proves ineffective, Donovan Reid's focus on its mystery helps to mitigate what could've been a fatal mistake.

But apart from its problematic lead, Donovan Reid is a well-constructed mystery drama that boasts an otherwise strong cast, a strong sense of intrigue that powers the mystery, and twists that not will not only surprise the viewer, but also allow for layers to develop to what could've been a simplistic story and give the viewer the pleasure of rethinking the film's events and marveling at how the twists change how certain events appeared. Those with a love of mystery and suspense will not go wrong in giving this film a look.

Score: 9 out of 10 cubic maze toys.