The Sunday Mail
Film Review
Tinashe Kusema
UNDER normal circumstances “Jolt” is one of those films I would normally watch and forget the minute I get to the end.
The fact that I have decided to review it on this platform has nothing to do with the film itself, rather the presence of its main co-stars Kate Beckinsale and Jai Courtney.
That, and its rather marginalised subject matter.
However, more on that later.
“Jolt” tells the story of a young lady, Lindy Lewis (Beckinsale), suffering from Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED). This is a behaviour disorder characterised by brief episodes of disproportionate anger and aggression.
After many attempts to find a cure, she undertakes an experimental treatment to control her rage.
She tries this through a self-administered shock treatment given through an electrode-lined vest she must wear at all times.
The treatment gives her life some form of structure, up until she falls in love on a blind date with Justin (Courtney).
Unfortunately, the said love gets shot and killed just before their third date.
The whole film then includes our protagonist Lewis going on a killing rampage in her attempts to find and avenge her boyfriend’s killer.
The action includes warehouse fight clubs, two old-looking gangsters and strangely enough, plenty of laughs.
However, this puts our heroine in the crosshairs.
Beckinsale, a “B movie” veteran, does enough to make this film plausible. Her performance is like a cross between Lara Croft (the Alicia Vikander version) and a very toned-down Milla Jovovich from the “Resident Evil” franchise.
You go in with very high expectations, but come out so disappointed.
The lowest ebb, in terms of performances, is the fact that David Bradley has something like four lines in the movie.
Most will remember the English thespian from his “Game of Thrones” days as Walder Frey, and we all know how great he was in that role.
The film’s biggest sin though is how it totally misses the opportunity to shine a little light on IED.
According to Wikipedia, IED is arguably one of the most marginalised disorders and affects as many
as 7,3 percent of adults in their lifetimes.
The closest the medical profession has come to a cure is either through psychotherapeutic component, which uses cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to help kids identify triggers for their episodes and manage their anger when faced with them.
The other is the pharmacological component, which combines various medications such as antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication to treat the symptoms of IED.
Now, Scott Wascha, the writer, decided to use it as a plot device and offer little, if at all, commentary on the illness.
The vague ending gives the impression that we could get a sequel, or even, God forbid, a franchise out of the film.
Now, this could be either a good or bad thing.
Bad in that Amazon Studios is likely to continue exploiting this sickness for ticket sales and box office revenue.
Good in that we have all seen what Beckinsale can do with straight-to-video content and franchises, cue in “Underworld” movie franchise.
Shout to Laverne Cox (Detective Nevin) and Bobby Cannavale (Detective Vicars) for doing the little they could with bad material.
Together with Beckinsale, the three save the film from being horrendous to watchable through their energy and commitment to characters.
