Hollow Reed

A visually unimpressive film about an Englishman (Martin Donovan) who suspects that his son (Sam Bould) is being physically abused by his ex-wife's lover (Jason Flemyng), this is basically a TV-movie disguised as a theatrical film. It's an uncommonly subtle and intelligent TV-movie, though, and scores bonus points for confronting twice the usual number of topical issues (which is to say, two). Child abuse, of course, isn't exactly controversial or misunderstood--I think we all agree that it's a Bad Thing, but what makes Hollow Reed more than just another maudlin cautionary tale is the inclusion of issue the second: the child's father is gay. Incredibly, both the defendant's attorney and the judge seem more concerned about the boy's potential exposure to his father's "lifestyle" than to the possibility that his mother's boyfriend is abusing him. Melodramatic, yes, but the actors' conviction and skill conveys such a sense of verisimilitude that what might ordinarily have struck you as clichés somehow seem like simple truths. Recommended. (M. D'Angelo)