When it comes to grand larceny, fleeing from a security guard, and inadvertently trapping the aforementioned authority figure in an unmarked hole, “mum” is truly the word.
Don’t Tell a Soul, Alex McAulay’s feature directorial debut, tells the story of two siblings and their opposing morals. The older sibling, Matt (Dunkirk’s Fionn Whitehead), shrugs off the possibility of consequences, and his relationship with his brother is one of constant torment and emotional manipulation. The younger sibling, Joey (Shazam’s Jack Dylan Grazer), struggles to take care of his family whenever possible and get out from under his brother’s abusive dominion over the household.
When the siblings steal thousands of dollars from a house during a scheduled fumigation, they’re immediately pursued by a security guard (The Office’s Rainn Wilson). Fortunately for them, the guard falls into an unmarked hole in the ground and is at their mercy for survival.
Matt wants to abandon the trapped guard, but Joey wants to free him. Their opposing morals lead to dangerous consequences, and in a twisted coming-of-age series of events, they’re forced to become their true selves…which leads to dangerous—and even fatal—consequences.
I really enjoyed Don’t Tell a Soul. Whitehead and Grazer handle the emotionally weighty material with astounding expertise, and Wilson becomes increasingly terrifying as the film progresses. I went into this movie worrying that I wouldn’t be able to see Wilson as anything but his famed character Dwight Schrute, but by the midway point in the film I’d completely forgotten his previous work and was completely sold on his performance as Joey’s pseudo-father figure.
I can’t give too many specifics about the dark places McAulay’s script takes us, because that would ruin the experience for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie. All I can say is that I was hooked by Don’t Tell a Soul, and I’ll be telling many, many souls about this kickass movie.
Don't Tell A Soul is available now on VOD via Saban Films.
