Four (2012)

Directed by: Joshua Sanchez
Country: USA

Movie Review: There are so many things going on in “Four”, a drama that triggers intense emotions by illustrating an agitated 4th of July for four different characters whose lives are dipped in a sort of prison. The film shows us that if you’re not well resolved in life and don’t assume what you really are with absolute conviction, unhappiness and pain will be inevitable. Despite still living with his wife and daughter, Joe (Wendell Pierce), sneaks out home to meet for the first time with a teenage boy named June (Emory Cohen), who in turn is struggling to find his identity in terms of sexual orientation. Simultaneously, Joe’s daughter, Aby (Aja Naomi King), leaves for a while the heaviness of taking care of her sick mother, to meet with Dexter (E.J.Bonilla), a former High School basketball player who takes refuge in drugs. These people’s secrets will be exposed through a series of encounters, coincidences, and findings that will change their relationships forever. Sometimes the way the film was structured and the story’s coincidences seemed wisely fabricated, but that aspect was exceeded by the interesting emotional battles that each character was fighting. It succeeds in making you think about some characters' choices, whereas some are deliberated, others are part of a growing up process. The fantastic performances were able to give some credible airs of reality, even considering that there are no happy moments in “Four”, which make us lose ourselves in its gravity.