BORDERLINE
Starring: Samara Weaving, Ray Nicholson, Alba Baptista, Eric Dane, and Jimmie Fails
Director: Jimmy Warden
KATIE
Borderline is sporadically funny and entertaining, but its uneven tone and performances mean it never reaches its full potential. Ray Nicholson as the stalker Paul and Samara Weaving as pop icon Sophia should’ve been the stars of the show, but the film is oversaturated with supporting characters, not to mention that Eric Dane’s flat performance dissipates any tension building. Nicholson also tries too hard to conjure his family resemblance. I enjoyed some of the unique editing choices and grittier moments, but they’re too few and far between. I’m interested to see what writer-director Jimmy Warden does next, but I was disappointed by Borderline.
BODE
Cocaine Bear made Jimmy Warden a screenwriter to watch, and now he makes his directorial debut with Borderline, another attempt to depict violent situations with plenty of humour. It never digs very deep character- or story-wise, which makes it puzzling that it takes so long to set things up, but once it does, it kicks into high gear. This is thanks to some inspired direction, consistent laughs, and game performances from the likes of Samara Weaving, Ray Nicholson, and Alba Baptista. It likely won’t linger in the memory for long, but at 94 minutes, Borderline is a fun enough watch.
QUENTIN
Truth be told, Borderline has a lot going for it, including some genuine laugh-out-loud moments, a game cast (Ray Nicholson, who seems to be everywhere recently, is especially great), and scenes that are just fun to watch. However, those positives are somewhat wasted in a movie that sees first-time director Jimmy Warden trying to do too much. The tonal inconsistency is the most obvious flaw, with Warden struggling to balance the horror and comedy, but small non sequitur tangents also highlight how scattershot it all is. For a 90-minute one-off, there is enough to have fun with, but the lack of cohesiveness really holds it back.
