Brave the Dark

There are biopics that chronicle a known singer, actor, politician, sports figure, and then there are those biopics that center around known events, natural disasters, unknown individuals, etc. Well, "Brave the Dark" falls into the latter category about an unknown individual enduring a tragic past where he needs healing emotionally, and this film addresses this with compassion and intensity. 

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1986. Haunted by torturous childhood memories, Nate Williams (Nicholas Hamilton) finds himself in darkness, when his high school drama teacher, Stan Deen (Jared Harris) bails him out of jail and takes him in, Nate must confront his past before it leads to his own destruction. It becomes not enough to simply stop getting into negative confrontations as much as it is to come to realize and face his horrible past so as to begin to heal, and this comes from his teacher who is amazingly patient with him knowing that he is truly hurting. 

Others to round out the cast are Sasha Bhasin as Tina Baxter, Nate's girlfriend, Will Price as Johnny Alecco, Jamie Harris as Barney, Elise Hudson as Linda, Tobias Segal as Nate's father, Banks Quinney as young Nate and Johnath Davis as Officer Smits. 

This was passionately and compassionately directed with pathos by Damian Harris ("The Rachel Papers" '89, "Deceived" '91, "Bad Company" '95, "Mercy" 2000, "Gardens of the Night" '08, "The Wilde Wedding" '17) plus TV, shorts, music videos and a video. This director certainly has the ability to create his scenes, through his actors, as believable as was needed to convince the audience of how troubled this youth was. It was effectively written by Dale G. Bradley ("Lost Valley" '98, "Wild Blue" 2000, "Terror Peak" (TV movie) '03), Lynn Robertson Hay ("The Impact" '22) plus TV, and additional writing by Damian Harris ("The Rachel Papers" '89, "Mercy" 2000, "Gardens of the Night" '08, "The Wilde Wedding" '17) plus TV, based on the original screenplay by Nathaniel Deen and John P. Spencer. The way that these writers used Williams' nightmares of his troubled past to interject in the script allowed the story to be that much more real and intense. We've seen films about troubled teens being helped by teachers, coaches, neighbors and others, however, this was written with that element of compassion this teacher had in order to win this teen over and do it in a way that wasn't condescending or patronizing. This teacher was the real deal. I should've realized this film would have an impact considering it was made by Angel Studios, who gave us "Sound of Freedom", "Sight", Cabrini" and others. Their films typically center on message films--mostly inspirational. 

If you're into inspirational yet 'real' films usually based on something or one of meaning, you will revel with this movie. The writing, directing and especially the acting by both Jared Harris and Nicholas Hamilton was effective as it was compelling. It draws the audience in so as to convey how tragic and troubled this teen was, and to show us that this happens everyday to those that slip through the cracks due to a poor system and society. 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                     Rated: PG-13                                           113mins.