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★★
Directed by: #AngusSilver
Written by: #AngusSilver
Starring: #KrisNeilson
Angel Candy is a lot of things: a huckster, an artist, a life coach, a radio personality, and a titan of the rail wheel lubricant delivery industry. Above all else he is doomed. While in hiding, he presents to us the story of his bizarre and often morally questionable life.
The Death of Angel Candy (2022) is a Canadian comedy crime thriller which has been nominated for Best Feature Film and Best Comedy Film on Film Freeway. The film takes on a documentary style format by focusing on the tales of our intriguing subject, Angel Candy, a strange and eccentric individual who has had a troubled upbringing from a potentially abusive grandfather and lives anything but an ordinary American lifestyle. Director and writer Angus Silver creates an intimate narrative through the framing of a single character directly addressing viewers by speaking about several life anecdotes, claiming to have almost died twice already.
The humour is very tongue in cheek and dry, with Angel discussing his ventures and past history in straight terms, the comedy derived from Kris Neilson’s charismatic line delivery and engrossing screen presence. The movie begins with an infectious quirky energy through snappy editing, utilising precise cuts to match the rhythm of Neilson’s performance as he moves about different areas of one location to another. The comedy and more dramatic scenes are complimented well by an effective original music score which adds a pleasant backdrop to well shot sequences.
The film is very much reliant on the central performance of Neilson to carry us through ninety minutes of bizarre circumstances and whilst he is clearly talented and can carry a script well, it is not quite enough to redeem an otherwise uneventful, slow pace. Due to the simplicity of the screenplay with random events being narrated to us and a lack of successful tension being mounted, the film can very often drag along aimlessly with no clear point to anything.
In the end, The Death of Angel Candy is a film which was clearly made with passion from all involved, exhibiting a quirky sense of humour through Silver’s direction and featuring an engaging lead performance by Neilson. However, ultimately the movie is bogged down considerably by heavy reliance on dialogue driven sequences throughout, which results in an audience disconnect and a lethargic watch overall.
The Death of Angel Candy (2022) trailer:
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