IMPERIUM (2016) - FILM REVIEW

       Imperium is a latin term which roughly translates to English as “absolute power, power to command”. It was used in ancient Rome as a signification of control -- and it is such control that engulfs the conscience of Nate Foster (Daniel Radcliffe), a rising FBI agent who is tasked by another individual to associate himself within the Aryan Brotherhood, neo-nazi white supremacist group seemingly underneath society, in order to do undercover work and stop an eventual terrorist attack, or several. And yet, as Foster begins to dissociate himself further from grounded reality, he starts to discover that the supremacists are everywhere, bleeding throughout normal society. They too have families, kids of their own who at a young age already are xenophobic. They run small businesses, go to restaurants, and float about our world like anybody else. And, to Foster’s horror, they are not difficult to become close with.
       The film comes from debut feature-director Daniel Ragussis, who comments his decision to cast Radcliffe as “interesting[...]he’s not this big guy that’s walking into a room and beating people up. He’s this very sort of soft-spoken, intelligent guy.” Indeed. Ragussis asks us to accept a different film than we’ve seen the star in before, as he opens the film with Radcliffe, gun-donning, in a van with other FBI agents, busting a seedy operation. He is immediately patient, quiet, yet alarmingly aggressive and passionate for justice. This aggression is truly channeled later when, in the thick of rallies with the supremacists, he spots an African-American man from his workplace, confused on Foster’s place in a rally, and Foster immediately snaps back at the man and gives him the n-word. What happens afterwards is even more interesting: he doesn’t give any remorse. He doesn’t even bother to wink or something at the man, as if to say, don’t worry, I’m undercover or something along those lines. He swallows the word, accepts it, and moves forward. It’s a moment of true pain and agony, because we’ve been led to believe there is a definite line of intolerance that Foster only pretends to cross, convincingly, to persuade his criminal comrades -- only to discover the line is blurred outright for him.
       We are brought even further into this world, culminating in many chilling sequences of confrontation between Foster and his cohorts, only to be brought out of it. After about ten-minute sequences of supremacist association, we’ll find Foster and his FBI coworker talking about the case. Though I guess these sequences are necessary for exposition, and maybe to ease the viewer’s mind into yes, there is a real world outside, and yet, it’s that notion that makes the whole thing feel compromised. We get tense and gripping sequences, but that tension immediately and rapidly dies down. It’s frustrating, and each time we then return to the supremacist world, the less we believe it, or are intimidated by it, anyway.
       The thrills then become thin and inconsistent, and unfortunately, the movie’s potential greatness sinks into oblivion. Because let’s face it: this is a stone-cold thriller. There’s dramatic elements, surely, but tonally, this is (or should be) a movie wherein we suffocate in the unfortunate and scary reality of those around us. And about halfway through, where the movie has hit all the thrills and has its context and message and narrative shifts in order, it isn’t really confident in what to do with all of it. All of the elements are there, ripe for cinematic glory, but they are bundled conglomerated into a bit of a mess. Not enough of one to cause narrative deflation and ability to claim the ride before wasn’t worth it, but certainly can be noted as disappointing. Daniel Radcliffe is absolutely brilliant in this movie, with each role furthering himself from “Harry Potter” mentions all-around. The film’s first two acts dive deep and stream into the mind, stirring and disturbing the viewer. The film soon loses its touch late in, too late to take a U-turn and change course. And yet, the message still stays: dominance is controlling, and for someone so mild-mannered and quiet, like Nate Foster, it can consume you whole, so much that you change your physical and mental state, your paranoia running rampant, all as result of being in the face of imperium. 

---