If you’re a director with only a couple of low-budget, low-acclaim horrors to your credit, and you’re looking to break out with some attention-grabbing fare, chances are you want to grab actors whose recognition alone will be enough to sell theater tickets. Of course, sometimes you just have to settle with those actors' siblings.
For his third feature, The Reckoning, director John V. Soto has tapped Australian actors Luke Hemsworth - older brother of Thor actor Chris Hemsworth and The Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth - and Jonathan LaPaglia - younger brother of Without a Trace star Anthony LaPaglia. Both men are already established television actors. LaPaglia’s latest roles were in 2011’s tense drama The Slap and 2012’s crime mystery Underbelly, while Hemsworth last starred in 2012’sBikie Wars: Brothers in Arms. It looks as if this may be Hemsworth’s first feature film role, as his other project, the war drama 34thBatallion, seems to be stuck is pre-production mode.
The Reckoning, which was picked up by Lightning Entertainment, is loftily described as “Memento meets Kalifornia.” The backwards mental wizardry of Christopher Nolan’s Memento will likely never be duplicated, and even with Kalifornia’s faults, it is still an engaging thriller that features one of Brad Pitt’s most striking characters. If The Reckoning can match even that, it will be something of a success. The film’s synopsis was described in the press release as such.
The story revolves around a detective who discovers footage at a murder scene, shot by two teenagers, that provides clues to the identity of a killer. The teens have since gone missing, and as the detective retraces their journey, he soon uncovers a trail of deceit and murder that leads all the way back to him.
Soto, whose earlier features include 2009’s Crush and 2010’s Needle, will begin production for The Reckoning on location in Australia beginning April 29.
