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Home Subscribe About Us Features News Album Reviews Movie Reviews Past Movies Movie Resources Concert Reviews Book Reviews Top 10 Contact Us	Bunker Hill Stars: James McDaniel, Laura Kirk, Saeed Jaffrey, Kevin Geer, Blake Robbins, Scott Allegrucci, Kelley Hunt, Ranjit Arab and Christopher Wheatley Director: Kevin Willmott Scriptwriters: Kevin Willmott and Greg Hurd Composers: Kelley Hunt and Nathan Towns with additional music by Pat Metheny Cinematography: Matt Jacobson Bunker Hill Productions Rating: un-rated but could be R Running Length: 110 minutes Bunker Hill will open the 10th Anniversary Season of The Williamstown Film Festival, Williamstown, MA. in October 2008. What would you do if you were visiting a town, the tornado sirens went off but there was no tornado. Also, no electricity, there was no storm damage and the computers in automobiles or gasoline pumps would not function. Do you think you would begin to get worried about this time? Such is the premise of Kevin Willmott's new film, Bunker Hill, that is set in a south central, rural community of Kansas. Willmott and co-writer, Greg Hurd, take this idea and combine it with a sense of the Canadian television series, "Jeremiah," a nod at the American series Jericho and a comment about whether this is The Rapture, or not. When there is no law, who or what constitutes THE law? Is now the time to bear arms? Does money still talk? The film opens with a bus delivering Peter (James McDaniel) to Bunker Hill. Peter is recently out of prison, having served time for insider trading on the stock market. He wants to re-unite with his wife, Hallie (Laura Kirk), but she says, the divorce is final, their two daughters stay with her and she has Peter arrested for breaking the custody agreement. Peter is told to leave town on the next bus, but can't because of what is perceived as a terrorist attack on the U.S. Communications are suddenly down, no electricity and emotions start to run raw. Hallie has a new boyfriend, McLain (Kevin Geer), whose family is wealthy and he wants Peter out of town for good. McLain's brother, Delmar (Blake Robbins, a look-alike for actor Max Martini from television's "The Unit") is the trouble-maker in the family, and quickly turns the situation into chaos, rabble-rousing and downright cruelty. Peter has two friends, though, the Pakistani men who run the local gas station, and give him shelter. They are Mr. Farook (Saeed Jaffrey) and his son (Ranjit Arab). Mr. Farook immigrated to the U.S. and settled into Kansas because he is a fan of the Old West, complete with a Colt .45. The situation in the town continues downhill. It is fortune that the main character of Peter, is a man of few words. Dialogue such as "When the mail stops, it's a bad sign," would certainly give him pause. We find out what we want to know of Peter from the other characters, and learn he was supposed to be in Tower II at 9/11, but was elsewhere doing illegal trading. The character who does the most talking is Mr. Farook, and the delightful Saeed Jaffrey smoothes his words with elegance, even while holding a Colt .45. Delmar spouts the usual villainy of "I'm right and you are wrong" with conviction, but it was difficult to find the center of McClain. There is a scene where he meets Peter at a tourist site in Kansas, which is Big Brutus, the world's largest coal shovel. A point is to be made and we didn't get it as it pertains to the current situation. Sometimes, actors deliver lines smoothly and in other instances recite them. What does stand out, though, is the photography by Matt Jacobson that shows Kansas at its best. There is violence in this town and torture to show that under duress, nothing changes in the world. I would like to know the name of the prison that Peter was in, because he came out of with the knowledge of a Special Forces man. Now that would be a story. As it stands, Bunker Hill gives us a community with no communication with the outside world and the choice to be law-abiding or not. * * * * * Director/scriptwriter Kevin Willmott attended NYU Film School before returning to Kansas. His film, "CSA: Confederates States of America" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is available on DVD. Kevin's screenplays have been commissioned by Oliver Stone, 20th Century Fox and others. He co-wrote the NBC mini-series "The 70's" with Mitch Brian. "Ninth Street," a feature film starring Martin Sheen and the late Isaac Hayes, is also a Kevin Willmott film. His current project is "The Only Good Indian" starring Wes Studi ("Last of the Mohicans.") Copyright 2008 Marie Asner