Quid Pro Quo (2008/I)

Director:

Carlos Brooks

Writer (WGA):

Carlos Brooks (written by)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

A strange new American dream.

Plot:

A semi-paralyzed radio reporter is sent out to investigate a story that leads him into an odd subculture and on a journey of disturbing self-realization.

Plot Keywords:

Wheelchair | Reporter | Quid Pro Quo | Wannabe | Radio Reporter

Cast

Nick Stahl	...	Isaac Knott
Rachel Black	...	Janice Musslewhite
Jessica Hecht	...	Edie
Jacob Pitts	...	Hugh
Ashlie Atkinson	...	Candy
Jamie McShane	...	Man on Sidewalk
Pablo Schreiber	...	Brooster
Jeane Fournier	...	Charlene Coke
Carmela Marner	...	A Female Wannabe
Phil LaMarr	...	Wannabe Group Leader
Matthew Carey	...	A Male Wannabe
Ben Siegler	...	Man with Trachea Tube
Michal Sinnott	...	Isaac's Mom
Joshua Leonard	...	Isaac's Dad
Vera Farmiga	...	Fiona

Runtime:

USA:82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:R

Filming Locations:

La Conner, Washington, USA

Company:

HDNet Films

Quotes:

[first lines]
Isaac: I don't remember *any* of what I'm about to tell you. I only know what the police and coroner's report said. But on the morning of April 5th, 1989, a high-speed car crash occurred, on a rural highway in upstate New York. There were 2 fatalities: my mother died on impact...

Movie Connections:

References Frankenstein (1931)

The best mysteries reveal the self, not just the solution to the mystery

I liked "Quid Pro Quo," a LOT. Do NOT be put off by the subject matter; that's just "local color" for a good, old-fashioned mystery, one that opens up" into not only revelation, but self-revelation. For those who like mystical mysteries, it's even got a pair of magical shoes that perform miracles.

The film is what it is not only because of a masterful script, but because of two actors who basically eat the screen with fine performances -- Nick Stahl and Vera Farmiga. Stahl plays a public radio reporter who is semi-paralyzed; the accident in his youth that killed his parents left him in a wheelchair. He gets a tip from an anonymous woman that at a local hospital, a man recently walked in and tried to bribe one of the residents to amputate his leg. Following up on it, he finds that not only is it true, but that there is a subculture out there that *envies* those in wheelchairs, and wants to become like them. They call themselves "wannabees," and have been known to cripple themselves or have others do it for them so that they can live their "inner dream" of being confined to a wheelchair themselves.

His investigation leads him to a mysterious and beautiful young woman, played by Vera Farmiga in a performance that is going to get her a LOT of work in the film biz. She's tremendous -- innocent, sexy, conflicted, and at every turn of the plot the person who leads Stahl's character deeper and deeper into his investigation of why on earth someone would *want* to be confined to a wheelchair.

It's a great flick, by a first-time writer/director, someone who IMO is To Be Watched. Highly recommended.