Beware of the scorpion’s sting

L-Iskorpjun (2010)
Certified: 12
Duration: 130 minutes
Directed by: Sandra Davis
Starring: Manuel Cauchi, Sandra Davis, André Penza, Jolene Micallef, Fabian Scerri de Caro, John Suda, Joe Quattromani, Charles Thake, Doreen Cini
KRS release

L-Iskorpjun (The Scorpion) features familiar faces and some new talent of the Maltese television scene. To its favour, one of the film’s protagonists is Manuel Cauchi, an actor who is no stranger to the big screen; in fact he was last seen in the international production Agora. The production also benefits from having Melvin Schembri on board. He had directed the Good Friday film Anno Domine XXXIII in 2008. As director of photography, editor and co-producer, he provides some interesting and ingenious ways to skip the obvious budgetary hurdles that local productions are faced with.

In the opening sequences of the film, we see a flashback featuring an enraged man (Fabian Scerri de Caro) being aggressive towards his wife, thus scaring his young son. As the film progresses and the boy grows up, we see more of these flashbacks and the pieces come together.

From the first time we see Selina (Sandra Davis), we realise she is a very ambitious and successful lawyer. She is married to Ralph (Manuel Cauchi), a doting husband who works as an airline pilot and is highly paid as a training captain. The two have a daughter, Angelique (Jolene Micallef), who has almost finished her university degree to become a lawyer like her mother. However, she seems to be still naïve and childish as she seems overprotected by her parents.

Ralph and Selina seem to be leading an idyllic existence which comprises a villa, drinking martinis after work, dinner cooked by their maid, afternoons on the verandah and going to the casino for relaxation.

However, soon all this will change when their daughter Angelique starts dating someone. Russell Brent (André Penza) seems to be quite a good catch: He is financially successful at the consulting firm he works in, is devoted to their daughter and is very charming. Selina is soon wooed by him and is convinced that he will make their daughter happy. But Ralph is not all that convinced and believes that the fact that the young man has no friends at all is a bit awkward.

Mr Cauchi as Ralph is restrained, composed and elegant. He is very believable as an airline pilot, living the good life. However, when he is given the chance to let loose, his acting is wonderful to behold as too is his vocal delivery.

Ms Davis has her good acting moments, however sometimes she veers towards the melodramatic, especially in the final stages of the story. Young Jolene Micallef plays naïve well while Mr Penza as Russell plays the charming guy quite well but as a maniacal evil character, he is a tad hollow.

The likes of John Suda and Joe Quattromani give the film a further air of dignity. Meanwhile, Mr Scerri de Caro is miles away from the Gawdenz character that many people associate him with. He really seems to be enjoying the chance to go wild.

L-Iskorpjun suffers from what many first-time directors suffer: they try to cram every idea into one film as it will be the only chance in their life to direct a film. In fact, the picture is excessively long and a bit more polish and script editing would have helped it a great deal.

Having said all this, the film has its interesting and well-executed moments; the shots on the aircraft, the flashbacks, the court sequences and the confrontation sequence that sees all family members facing off, being such cases in point. I can understand that local productions cannot be reviewed in the same manner as much bigger budgeted foreign ones and I am not even trying to. I applaud everyone concerned with the production for their effort and KRS in distributing the film as it provides a platform for Maltese productions. I can simply imagine the perseverance it takes to film against all odds and thus I believe that the cinema going-audience should show support by turning up to watch and support local productions.