‘What Comes Around’ Review: A Triangle of Power Dynamics

They say that productions of David Mamet’s “Oleanna,” a play about sexual harassment, impressed quarrels in theater lobbies. Such ardour is unlikely to end result from “What Comes Around,” a drama that shares with Mamet’s story an incendiary premise pinned to sexual politics, however lacks the electrical energy essential to set off sparks.

Directed by Amy Redford and written by Scott Organ primarily based on his play, the film charts the shifting energy dynamics amongst a mom, her teenage daughter and the daughter’s older boyfriend. Anna (Grace Van Dien) has simply turned 17 when Eric (Kyle Gallner), a 28-year-old she met on-line, seems on her doorstep. Wary, then intrigued, Anna permits their flirtation to morph right into a bodily courtship, till her mom, Beth (Summer Phoenix), catches wind of the affair and orders Eric out for good.

An enormous reveal happens close to the story’s midpoint, when Beth’s aversion to Eric is proven to have a darker valence and stem from a hid previous. The improvement is a story sleight of hand, reverse engineered to upend the viewer’s current impressions and lift new questions on duty, trauma and blame.

The story, although neatly plotted, is participating sufficient. The hassle lies in its staging. Redford typically units conversations — and there are various of them — throughout out of doors strolls, as if stumped for concepts of motion that pairs with dialogue. This absence of cinematic intention extends to blocking and digital camera placement. With course this desultory, even climactic outbursts play like shrugs.

What Comes Around
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 25 minutes. In theaters.