The Indie Insurgency

Strong cast and script raise low-budget terrorism thriller above its means

The indie thriller The Insurgents addresses political discontent and terrorism in post-9/11 New York more intelligently and honestly than its big-budget counterparts. Currently at the Cobble Hill Theatre, and available on bare-bones DVD November 20, it focuses on a foursome of would-be terrorists planning a downtown Manhattan attack.

The Insurgent’s ostensible protagonist is the group’s lone female member, ex-sex worker Hana (Juliette Marquis). The narrative is constructed around her participation in the attack, particularly as she becomes a bargaining chip the men deploy to keep each other in check. Their discontent with the current political climate does not, apparently, include discontent with its misogyny. James (Michael Mosley), the object of Hana’s faked affection, turns out to be a CIA agent posing as a pawn to Robert’s machinations. Hana’s slightly more genuine love interest is Iraq veteran Marcus (Henry Simmons), sent home when an accident leaves him castrated. Epitome of the emasculated brute type, Marcus articulates a frightening nothing-to-lose abandon that confuses the personal with the political: if he can’t assert his masculinity by fucking women, the logic goes, he might as well die attacking the system that destroyed his manhood (and some less-important things like Iraq). The plot’s mastermind is Robert (John Shea), a charismatic leftist author and ex-CIA agent whose charm and intelligence bring his three co-conspirators onboard. In the most disquieting moments of writer-director Scott Dacko’s film, Robert’s eloquent diatribes tap into viewers’ cynicism and discontent, nearly eliciting our support for his scheme.

As double-crossings and covert agendas emerge, however, The Insurgents starts to focus less on terrorism and more on acting. The talented cast-members strive to decipher each others’ performances, all the while trying to maintain their own multiple roles. Between its political drama investigation – how can individual citizens change a spiraling system – and its more classic thriller elements – how many lies can each character convincingly balance – the acting and writing in The Insurgents keeps it compelling and nerve-wracking to the last moment.

A similar version of this review appears on the New York Press blog and can be seen here.