It's pretty rare to find a good courtroom drama in the indie, lower budget film world. For that matter, it's rare to come across any courtroom drama in the indie film world... good or bad. "Untouched" is one such crime drama, a good one. Although not a total courtroom drama, such as watching the second half of the original Law & Order series, there is enough to call it such, even though most of the movie happens outside an actual courtroom. What really struck me as interesting was how this film brought me back to titles such as "The Client" from the 1990s. Well maybe comparing it to "The Rainmaker" would be more factual in terms of pacing. Either way, that general feel from the heyday of crime thrillers is ever present in this film, and I had to wonder if director Raphael Vieira presented this film with that nineties flare on purpose. If so, what a great touch. If not, I'm ever glad it ended up like it did. That nostalgic feeling of some of my favorite old school films made "Untouched" a highly entertaining movie in my books. With thoughts of crime thrillers from yester-year fresh in your heads, let me quickly sum up this particular film. We've got a dead baby. We've got a simple minded defendant and an attorney with a past indirectly relating to the case. In all honesty, "Untouched" may not be the most unique of concepts, but it's one that is presented well and more to the point... one that always seems to work. The small details, such as an overbearing and controlling parent, a substance abuse problem and the general niceties associated with southern living are all present and accounted for. Making for a more believable background world, even if maybe a little cliché. That said, the charm and details fished out of Megan Lombardo and Sandra Elise Williams script add a nice polish, to what could have easily become a boring production. To be totally honest, "Untouched" far surpassed my initial expectations for a lower budget film of this style. I was pleasantly surprised. Writing of the technical aspects has always been the hardest part when writing these reviews. Writing on this title is no different yet happily, I don't have a lot to write about. The majority of the camera work, framing and lighting were all top shelf. As was the actual "edit" of the production. I actually think that 90s flare I wrote about above, owes a lot to some softer shooting. By no means am I writing that this film is an out-of-focus dud, but it's not sharp to the point of looking out your newly cleaned kitchen window. It feels warmer and less clinical than the picture perfect films of now-days. The casting felt near perfect as well. Just saying. This film has a larger than normal cast for an indie production, so I'm going to use broad strokes and simply write this. The leading and supporting cast all did fantastic jobs for the most part. These characters felt like real people. Never perfect and clearly flawed. Just like most of the folks I know personally. Nobody truly came across as ridiculous or hollow. Simply regular people trying to live their less-than-perfect lives. I'd be lying if I wrote that everything was perfect all the time, but the main cast members all held their own and it's a highlight of the film. Considering this is essentially a legal drama, the casting choices and skill becomes far more impressive. It's not all roses however, I was not a fan of the time-lapse shots used. They felt out of place and weird. I have no real explanation as to why... only that they didn't work for me as a viewer. I also noticed a heck of a lot of scoring. This is another of those films that feel as if some form of music is playing through eighty percent of the movie. I'm a huge believer that scoring is meant to enhance a scene, not take over and become one of the actual actors. This may be a personal gripe, but it's one I know is shared by many. When the credits rolled I was left with one question. Did I like the film? Obviously, the answer was yes. This was an ambitious production that could have been a disaster. Any legal based drama has the potential to be a snooze-fest. "Untouched" easily earns it's stars and all things considered, is a great film. Intentional or not, that nostalgic nineties flare truly drove this title home. For me anyhow. At the end of the day reviews are all about personal tastes. For me? "Untouched" did the trick and kept me watching for almost an hour and a half. That doesn't happen every day when writing about independent film. I was entertained. What more could you ask of a movie? Indie or not.
