Chained Review

Director: Jennifer Lynch

Cast: Vincent D’Onofrio, Eamon Farren, Evan Bird

Running Time: 94 minutes

Certificate: 18

Synopsis: Bob (D’Onofrio) drives a taxi. One day, Bob picks up a lad off the streets, Tim (Bird), and raises him as his own protégé. But one day, Tim has to decide whether to follow in Bob’s footsteps, or make a break for freedom. Oh, did we forget to mention Bob’s a serial killer who uses his cab to pick up his prey…?

Fair warning: CHAINED is not for the faint of heart, nor those lacking in a stomach of steel. Perhaps anyone with a conscience may wish to steer clear completely of this sombre tale of pseudo-Stockholm Syndrome; one that, while executed for the most part superbly, will undoubtedly cause much seat-squirming.

Jennifer Lynch, daughter of David, heads up proceedings at the helm of her seventh directorial effort. She’s also responsible for the screenplay, which deals with Bob (Vincent D’Onofrio), a taxi driver with a penchant for murder. We’re introduced to Bob’s ‘routine’ right from the off; as he abducts women, taking them back to his remote home and brutally raping and murdering them. This is harrowing enough in itself, but the presence of Tim amplifies the shock a thousand times more.

Tim (Evan Bird) is nine years old. He’s also Bob’s protégé; at least if Bob has his way. Tim was abducted along with his mother by Bob, for reasons unclear at the time. But as we watch Tim grow up into, apparently, Eamon Farren, we also play witness to a harrowing insight into the human mind: not only that of Tim’s, but of Bob’s, too. CHAINED runs a lot deeper than the simple intention to shock; aside from a convoluted and unnecessary finale, suggesting strongly that it may have been added as the result of studio demands rather than artistic creativity, this psychological thriller offers more of a character study than anything else. The synopsis may well be enough to turn you off, but rest assured that if you do give CHAINED a chance, you may find more than you expect.

Of course, that’s not to say CHAINED isn’t still disturbing. Yet it does more than simply throw around scores of violent imagery; the really perturbing predicament Lynch presents is that of a stolen childhood. Tim is robbed of not only his innocence, as his child self is forced to witness and learn of the depraved acts that Bob commits, but of the chance to experience the same life most of us take for granted; growing up, schooling, an education and family. That Tim is deprived of all this in such a cruel manner by Bob, and what he is subjected to under Bob’s care, disgusts almost (if not quite) as much as Bob’s heinous crimes themselves.

This effect is portrayed through a number of means, but first and foremost by the superb performances of each and every one of Lynch’s cast. The relationship between D’Onofrio and Farren is played out brutally and yet, unlike with Bird, with some tenderness; to return to the Stockholm Syndrome point for a moment, CHAINED presents us with something of a reversal: it’s clear that over time, Bob has developed an attachment to Tim. That Tim has developed no such affection, and lives constantly in fear, matters little to Bob, who seeks to teach Tim the ways of his life. All the while, we’re given snippets of Bob’s dreams; flashbacks to a scarred childhood and a controlling, disturbed father – and here again we can see elements of an inherently character-driven narrative. Unlike so many films of this type, we’re given an element of reasoning behind Bob’s actions; some suggestion as to why he does the things he does.

Lynch presents us with some simultaneously repulsive and fascinating ideas, and it’s perhaps her lack of restraint in plastering them over the screen that makes CHAINED so effective. It’s not a movie you’ll ever want to watch twice, but it is one that will stay with you long after the credits roll. At least if you manage to forget the Hollywood finale.

 CHAINED is on limited released in the UK 1st February and DVD 4th February