While watching MISCONDUCT, it dawned on me, that I would need a thesaurus so I could find other words to when describing just how awful this movie. Every single aspect of MISCONDUCT is just flat out disgusting. It’s a never-ending horror show from frame to frame. The acting is dreadful to the point where you wonder if they’re even trying. I’m going to ahead and put away the thesaurus now and tell you why this movie was so visually revolting and intellectually odious.
Ben (Duhamel), a hot shot lawyer, is approached by his ex-girlfriend Emily (Malin Akerman). Emily has some ethically damaging information about Arthur (Hopkins), a pharmaceuticals mogul. Ben’s better judgement says that he shouldn’t pursue a case on the word of an ex-girlfriend that’s constantly hoping to ruin things with his wife, Charlotte (Alice Eve). But Ben’s law partner, Charles (Pacino), encourages Ben to take the case, implying that Ben would become partner if he does. Charles, predictably, has it in for Arthur and Ben predictably takes a job he has no good reason to.
Despite my simplified synopsis, it wasn’t easy to interpret because MISCONDUCT’s plot is convoluted. The story is unnecessarily diced up and the movie’s exposition is told through flashbacks. Smarter movies would use flashbacks to reveal plot twists, but MISCONDUCT drags the viewer through a bunch of nonsense, before explaining why something absurd just happened. But the absurdity is often too outrageous for us to believe, making the exposition that much more preposterous. I can only imagine that reading the script was like reading a book with missing chapters or wondering if the writer was drunk.
How seasoned actors, Hopkins and Pacino, could honestly allow themselves to be in this is beyond me. Unless their paychecks made-up half of the movie’s $5 million budget, there’s no financial reward large enough to dilute their rich careers. Josh Duhamel’s robotic performance is understandable since he’s had experience after starring in the TRANSFORMERS movies. Akerman and Eve are left to be eye candy, having to regurgitate terribly written dialogue written by some disgusting individual with a pension for watching women say demeaning things and take physical abuse.
MISCONDUCT’s script was written by two people who are more inclined to write cheap late night horror movie trash than they are to write a dramatic thriller. MISCONDUCT manages to confuse the viewer, but be predictable. That in of itself is a confounding feat. Unfortunately this is Shimosawa’s first film. This bad movie is not his fault. He knows how to frame and film it like a thriller, but it wasn’t written as one. It looks like Shimosawa will just have to stick to producing semi-popular TV shows like THE FOLLOWING.
If there was a movie that people were forced to watch as punishment, it’d be MISCONDUCT. There is no silver lining to MISCONDUCT. The actors in MISCONDUCT don’t take the material seriously enough for it to be laughed at nor are the filmmakers smart enough to realize how bad it is. No one associated with this movie seems to actually like being a part of it. So hypothetically, if we were to believe that everyone in this movie is being punished for some past misdeed, what sin have I committed to end up having to watch this agonizingly dull movie?
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: (1080p Widescreen 2:40:1) The production values are one of the few bright spots and they’re highlighted on this blu-ray.
Audio: (English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1) The soundtrack is forgetful and the sound effects are fairly generic. But you can hear them clearly on this.
The Making of MISCONDUCT (15:08): This behind the scenes feature is guided by interviews with cast members. It touches upon the story, characters, twists and what it was like to work with Hopkins and Pacino. I hated this movie so much I found this feature to be one long lie.
Deleted Scenes (3:26): Four deleted scenes that expectedly add nothing to the story.
Theatrical Trailer