Rating: 
Summary: Smart, Thought-provoking
Review: Starring Ryan Gosling (MURDER BY NUMBERS) and David Morse (THE LANGOLIERS), this movie is a *must see* - it's a bittersweet drama about how lonely people deal with loss and vulnerability. The writers/directors of THE SLAUGHTER RULE are Andrew and Alex Smith - two brothers from Montana who workshopped this script at Sundance. In fact, THE SLAUGHTER RULE was up for Sundance's Grand Jury Prize. The kernel of the script came from their own high school experiences where every boy snickered that the coach was rumored to be gay. Though they never found out if that was the case, the Smiths were haunted by the fact that they dismissed the coach that easily based on school rumor and inuendo. Gosling plays Roy Chutney, an affable high school student in a small Montana town where there isn't much to do except drink, play football and go to the local bar. In the beginning of the movie, he loses his father and is cut from the varsity team. The combined losses hit him very hard but he is soon recruited to play 6-man football by a local never-do-well, Gid (Morse) who has his eye on Roy. The term "slaughter rule" is apparently a football term where a game is lost if the opponents are too far ahead in points. This is a fascinating and touching film about small town life and about loneliness. We're asked to accept Gid for what he may or may not be - a lonely older gay man who's only joy in life is to coach football. We're also asked to accept Roy for what he is - a teenager with a world of problems and yet no one is cutting him any slack. The real star of this movie is Ryan Gosling. Ever since his breakthrough performance in last year's critically-acclaimed but little-seen Neo-Nazi drama, THE BELIEVER, critics have only had a chance to notice his talent in the flawed MURDER BY NUMBERS. In fact, Gosling and his co-star Michael Pitt were the only good things about the Sandra Bullock 'by-the-numbers' murder mystery. One good way of judging a performance is to imagine if any other actor could play that role - or, how would the movie be different with someone else. In THE SLAUGHTER RULE, this is easily Gosling's best performance. Here he is, a high school student (say 17), who has to deal with his father's death, school traumas, an aloof mother, an unsympathetic girlfriend (Clea Duvall) who just wants to get out of town. His only 'father figure' is his coach who borders between being too close which in turns makes Roy worry about his own sexuality. It's an incredible emotional barrage but Gosling handles the part poignantly - as an angry teen, as a sensitive young man, and finally as someone who earns some maturity and wisdom. David Morse, a familiar character actor, shines as Gideon, an older man with a melancholy past. His performance is a careful counterbalance to Gosling's confused and vulnerable young man. Gid is a man who has had a hard life but knows what he wants. Two incredible and outstanding scenes in this movie (and there are many wonderful moments) - one is a line-crossing confrontation between Roy and Gid (I can say no more but everyone in the audience was hyperventilating with the tension in the air) - and the other is a smart bedroom scene between Roy and his girlfriend when he looks to reassure his masculinity but is instead taught a bracing lesson about intimacy. Set in Montana, THE SLAUGHTER RULE also uses music to great effect - the sort of crooning that enhances the loneliness that big open spaces have. Cinematography is icy-crisp. Editing is a little rough in the beginning of the film, but overall THE SLAUGHTER RULE is a wonderful debut film for the Smith brothers and a powerful new additional to Ryan Gosling's successful transformation from child actor (MMC, Young Hercules) to mature actor. How good is Gosling? Last year, I went to vote for Jake Gyllenhaal at the IFP awards. I saw THE BELIEVER and voted for Gosling instead. He's that good! THE SLAUGHTER RULE will unfortunately be a small indie film release, but look for it in your art house theaters and later on video. It's a wonderful experience you won't soon forget.
Rating: 
Summary: Sundance Slaughters Cinema Standards
Review: Sundance directors and screenplay writers constantly slaughter the rules of filmmaking in splendid style. THE SLAUGHTER RULE is no exception to the Sundance standard, however it slowly twists the rules before it nearly breaks them right off. Set in the bleak and dreary high school years of a cold and frozen-ground Montana, this story of the strong-arm sport of six-man football and a young recruit who recklessly tries to control the often brutal game is clearly a sad satire of lives that many wouldn't bother living. The actual regulation, the slaughter rule, allows a team to simply quit when they're getting badly beaten by their opponents. As our young athlete slowly realizes that you can't stop the weather and you can't keep out the cold and you can't control what you don't respect, he begins to wish that life had a slaughter rule of its own. Ryan Gosling (THE BELIEVER) continues to excel from one movie to the next. He's like a young Edward Norton (AMERICAN HISTORY X), choosing films for their class and their taste rather than for their big screen appeal. David Morse (THE NEGOTIATOR) is a complex and emotional coach with an odd and dubious attachment to his players. The writing by brothers Alex and Andrew Smith is incredible, as is the often black and white cinematography set in their Montana home. A dreary soundtrack score by alt. country forefather Jay Farrar is subtle and hits home in a simple sort of way. Farrar manages an uppercut from a light slap similar to the way that snow-capped mountains cut the landscape. This film is not for everyone. It's a football movie on the outside, but don't look for ANY GIVEN SUNDAY or VARSITY BLUES here. Many viewers will have issues with the slow storyline and with the lack of resolution when the credits roll. But, these are the spectators that have problems looking at life as well.
Rating:
Summary: Sundance Slaughters Cinema Standards
Review: Sundance directors and screenplay writers constantly slaughter the rules of filmmaking in splendid style. THE SLAUGHTER RULE is no exception to the Sundance standard, however it slowly twists the rules before it nearly breaks them right off. Set in the bleak and dreary high school years of a cold and frozen-ground Montana, this story of the strong-arm sport of six-man football and a young recruit who recklessly tries to control the often brutal game is clearly a sad satire of lives that many wouldn't bother living. The actual regulation, the slaughter rule, allows a team to simply quit when they're getting badly beaten by their opponents. As our young athlete slowly realizes that you can't stop the weather and you can't keep out the cold and you can't control what you don't respect, he begins to wish that life had a slaughter rule of its own. Ryan Gosling (THE BELIEVER) continues to excel from one movie to the next. He's like a young Edward Norton (AMERICAN HISTORY X), choosing films for their class and their taste rather than for their big screen appeal. David Morse (THE NEGOTIATOR) is a complex and emotional coach with an odd and dubious attachment to his players. The writing by brothers Alex and Andrew Smith is incredible, as is the often black and white cinematography set in their Montana home. A dreary soundtrack score by alt. country forefather Jay Farrar is subtle and hits home in a simple sort of way. Farrar manages an uppercut from a light slap similar to the way that snow-capped mountains cut the landscape. This film is not for everyone. It's a football movie on the outside, but don't look for ANY GIVEN SUNDAY or VARSITY BLUES here. Many viewers will have issues with the slow storyline and with the lack of resolution when the credits roll. But, these are the spectators that have problems looking at life as well.
Rating: 
Summary: All hype no show
Review: Well I can't agree with those other folks on this one. The only good thing about this film was the scenery. This is just another movie making us Montana folks look like a bunch of hicks. Oh sure, all Montana teenagers go down to the bar for beers after the game! They could have at least shown us a little more 6 man football. I guess hearing Wylie Gustafson was OK but that just about sums up the good parts for me. The first fifteen minutes I damn near shut this one down. My only regret is that I didn't. Don't waste 4 bucks or 2 hours on this one.
Rating:
Summary: A thought-provoking and iconoclastic thrill
Review: Why did I watch this movie? Why did I KEEP watching this movie? Is loneliness a good reason for making sexual advances on a teenager? Well, maybe it is if your sexual partner is a homeless drunk with diabetes who keeps interrupting you during karaoke night. Heck, as long as the coach takes his high school team out for beers after a football game, he can do whatever he wants. (And if he buys them a box dinner, he can watch them shower together.) It seems some people cried at the character development of this movie. I cried that there are actually people out there posing as coaches for high school sports who use the roster as a way to find who they can add to their list of molestees. Then I cried when I realized I will never get 2 hours of my life back.
Rating: 
Summary: Skip this one
Review: Why did I watch this movie? Why did I KEEP watching this movie? Is loneliness a good reason for making sexual advances on a teenager? Well, maybe it is if your sexual partner is a homeless drunk with diabetes who keeps interrupting you during karaoke night. Heck, as long as the coach takes his high school team out for beers after a football game, he can do whatever he wants. (And if he buys them a box dinner, he can watch them shower together.) It seems some people cried at the character development of this movie. I cried that there are actually people out there posing as coaches for high school sports who use the roster as a way to find who they can add to their list of molestees. Then I cried when I realized I will never get 2 hours of my life back.
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