A Breed Apart (1984)

A Breed Apart (1984)
Director: Philippe Mora
Writer: Paul Wheeler

There are films that I watch because of the the cast. I look at the credits and say to myself, 'I've got to see this film.' Take for example the film ESCAPE TO ATHENA. Roger Moore, Stefanie Powers, Telly Savalas, David Niven; the roster of fantastic and interesting actors goes on and on. The film itself is mediocre and I found it to be  a bit tedious when I first saw it in the theatres. I would not be surprised to learn that the actors agreed to the film to vacation in Greece more so than any draw to their characters or script.

A BREED APART is like that. One look at the cast list and I had to watch the film.

Jim Malden (Rutger Hauer) is an eccentric, anti-social environmentalist living on an island in the wilds of North Carolina. He takes care of the wildlife, especially watching over a rare species of bald eagle nesting in the mountains on his land. Malden has the occasional run in with poachers (Brion James and John Dennis Johnston) but mostly he spends his days being one with nature and pining for local shop owner Stella Clayton (Kathleen Turner).

Enter mountaineer Mike Walker (Powers Boothe) posing as a wildlife photographer who charms his way into the lives of Clayton and her son and Malden. Gaining the trust of Malden, Walker uses it to make a grab for the eagle's eggs. Eggs that reclusive multi-millionaire J.P. Whittier (Donald Pleasence) will pay handsomely for.

How I missed this in theatres when it was originally released I can't fathom. The cast screams '80s. Rutger Hauer, Kathleen Turner, Powers Boothe, Donald Pleasence and Brion James. All were rockin' the theatres and video shops of the decade.

Sadly, the cast isn't the entirety of the film. There's the script. Maybe it was the '80s but Malden's actions aren't those of a love sick puppy dog unable to muster the courage to ask out Clayton. The guy is a mentally unstable vet on the verge of killing anyone and everyone who accidentally steps on an ant hill or does a bit of fishing near his bobby trapped island. Granted, he does change his ways once he comes around and courts Clayton but his earlier actions, as dictated by the script and not the character, are a bit too blunt. The less we say about the stereotypical local beer guzzlin' hill jacks the better. Their character arc is obvious from the moment they appear on screen. It's not Chekhov's gun, it's James Dickey's unwashed, beer bellied, back woods antagonist. The script is the big let down. It doesn't go anywhere and the conservation / redemption themes are ham fisted and not fully thought out.

Director Philippe Mora's next film was HOWLING II which should give you some idea of his arc.

Maurice Gibb, of Bee Gees fame, provided the soundtrack.

A BREED APART is a decent watch but go into it for the actors, not the script.

**1/2 out of ****