Review:
"Fatman"
Release Date: Nov. 13, 2020
Rating: R Running Time: 99 minutes If you thought Kurt Russell was the most unexpected action hero in recent memory to put on Santa Claus’ red suit, his Tequila Sunrise costar Mel Gibson sets out to prove you wrong. In Fatman, Gibson’s crotchety Kris Kingle does not just deliver presents to nice kids across the world on Christmas Eve. He and his loyal army of hardworking elves also manufacture control panels for U.S. fighter jets in order to keep his toy workshop financially afloat. Oh, and Gibson being Gibson, his Santa knows how to handle firearms. A handy skill considering Santa finds himself targeted for assassination by a sociopathic rich brat upset about receiving a lump of coal for Christmas. (He also is shot while delivering presents but he considers this an occupational hazard.) Needless to say, Fatman is not your typical yuletide joyride. This stinging black comedy comes from the deliciously warped minds of siblings Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms, the writing/directing team responsible for the SXSW 2017 standout thriller Small Town Crime. The Nelms operate under the assumption that the world is darker and less friendlier than it was decades ago. That more children engage naughty in behavior and being crossed off Santa’s list. Hence a notable decrease in Christmas spirit. The Nelms offer a tired and jaded Santa, one who is at his wit’s ends. He still believes in his job. But making and delivering toys to kids has devolved into a business for Santa, a business that precariously pins its financial success on kids being nice instead of naughty. Fatmanpaints a bleak picture of the commercialization of Christmas at its most cynically hilarious. It is both amusing and deeply disturbing to watch Santa’s elves fulfil their U.S. military contract with the same glee and energy they put into building bikes and sleds for Christmas. But, in its own sly way, Fatman also slams Santa for worker exploitation. Just because the elves can work all day and all night does not mean they should. Bad Santa. With his unkempt gray beard and gravelly voice, a slightly rotund Gibson is more humbug than “ho ho ho” as a mountain man of a Santa beaten down by bureaucracy and fearful about where today’s society is heading. The grumpy Gibson’s contagious disillusionment not only informs every minute of Fatman but results in an inevitable outburst of violence that determines the fate of Christmas for once and for all. The instigator is Billy Wenan, a controlling little brat played with clear amorality and an undying thirst for revenge by Chance Hurstfield. Pissed off Santa gave him a lump of coal, Billy hires hitman Jonathan Miller (Walton Goggins) to bump off the less-than-jolly old Saint Nicholas. Miller also bears a grudge toward Santa, which has manifested itself in a life of self-loathing and brutality. Half the fun of Fatman lies with Miller’s arduous search for the mythical giver of gifts. The taciturn Goggins carries with him a bitterness that can only come from decades of feeling wronged at a young and impressionable age by a hero figure. So Miller’s raid on Santa’s workshop is executed with a balance of precision and personal animosity. The contempt displayed in Fatman is barely offset by Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Ruth Kringle, Santa’s wife. Jean-Baptiste remains a ray of sunshine in a snowy climate throughout Fatman as she constantly tries to restore Santa’s diminishing Christmas spirit. “You’re an icon. People love you,” Ruth tells a soured Santa. Gibson’s Santa is far from lovable. But he is a Santa for the time we live in. Robert Sims Aired: Nov. 12, 2020 Web site: https://www.sabanfilms.com/films/fatman/ |
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