The caper film is one of the most difficult to pull off, but when executed in style – delivers sheer exhilaration as though you are a part of the action, committing the crime yourself as witnessed in movies like The Italian Job, Ocean’s Eleven, The Sting, Catch Me If You Can and Inception… so how does Skeem measure up?Adding comedy to the mix makes the job even more difficult, heightening the thrills and intensifying the farce to breaking point. The classic missing money, dead body, narcotics, lottery ticket or incriminating document concept has been done to death, but the crime subgenre remains wildly provocative and entertaining for audiences who get to experience guilt-free thrills on the dark side of humanity.

Just like the Survivor TV series, man’s greed or desire for power is exploited, making it easy to see the characters we love-to-hate meet their downfall. Schadenfreude or in Hollywood, point and say ha-ha, is where it’s at and we’re given a roving, voyeuristic eye to implant or extract ourselves from the story whenever convenient, sticking close to the redeeming heroes and dropping the bad eggs as if we’re getting off on that floor.

Skeem is a good crime caper. Tim Greene (Boy Called Twist) has written and directed a fun, entertaining and lively film that moves along at a frenetic pace with an ensemble representing some of South Africa’s best actors. The cardboard box of money is what was the missing element in Paradise Stop and Greene’s essentially delivered a more refined version of Benny Boom’s Next Day Air with local South African talent and comedy flavour.

“Hey my bra, is that a “Bad Moon Rising” or WHAT?!”

Next Day Air followed two transporters, whose cardboard box delivery of cocaine is delivered to the wrong address and becomes the bone of contention between an apartment block of gangsters. Skeem is set at a rural South African holiday resort and has a softer tone, but generates a similar concoction of light comedy, ultra-violence and bad language.

The problem is that there are just too many money-grabbing charlatans in one resort. It’s one thing to have a block of ex-cons backstabbing each other, but the film loses some of its grip by dismissing every resident as an uninhibited criminal in the shadows. We’re suffering the after-effect of a recession, which may have partly inspired this “love of money” caper, but the bad guys just seem to flip the switch when the pile of cash hits the ground without any sort of buffer.

Having a predominantly unlikable ensemble of characters makes it difficult to identify with the story, keeping viewers at an arm’s length. The only saving grace is lead actor, Wandile Molebatsi as Vista and Lilani Prinsen in her debut as Janna, whose jagged edges soften over screen time. Both up-and-coming actors deliver solid pivotal performances and help keep the action and cynicism in check with the flitter of integrity and goodness.

“T-t-tangerine trees en m-ma-marmalade skies…”

It’s a difficult balancing act, when you consider that the rest of the holiday resort’s guest list and descending gangsters are slithering all over the cold hard cash. The money-grabbing contingent is made up of Grant Swanby, Rapulana Seiphemo, Kenneth Nkosi, Terrence Bridgett, Kurt Schoonraad, Casey B. Dolan and Mark Elderkin to name a few… The ensemble is bulging with talent and threatens to implode as more and more characters get their “money shot”.

With so many actors fighting for screen time, there are some that shine brighter than others. Terrence Bridgett steals the show with his funny stammering, combi-driving henchman role as Mung. Kurt Schoonraad establishes the perfect tone for crime and comedy as Richie Rich. Rapulana Seiphemo does what he does best as the straight-faced gangster, while Kenneth Nkosi gets down to business with plenty of eye-balling.

Mark Elderkin deserves a special mention as the one-man-band equivalent of a stoner comedy, while Casey B. Dolan and Jenna Saras show us the meaning of sexy, vivacious, stone cold bitch. The ensemble is collectively good, but there are just too many speaking roles and characters to keep tabs on. You’re so busy trying to work out which chalet they’ve come from that by the time the real bad guys rock up and the money’s changed hands again… you’ve lost count.

2oceansvibe friends James Stewart and Barry van Zyl and their new powerhouse Music Design, Production and Licensing company, WATER took care of the audio side of things! (www.water-sound.com).

“Which of you f-f-fine y-young ladies is getting hitched?”

Skeem is chunky, especially in the middle and despite good pacing, it just gets to be a bit too much. Perhaps a slightly longer build-up to the resort or more intermittent murders would’ve helped clear some of the character debris and subplots. As it stands, the promise of a road trip that hits a dead-end and a locked down holiday resort just stunts and stagnates the production a bit.

The choice to shoot at a cheap holiday resort in the middle of nowhere was a touch of brilliance for a film with budgetary constraints: less props in the minimalist chalets, an anywhere in South Africa feel and a fixed, flexible shooting location.Skeem doesn’t overshoot the mark, although if you’re leaning towards a 16 age restriction, make sure you use live ammunition to tag-and-bag rather than distracting post-production gunfire visual effects.

The same sentiment can be expressed in the intensity of the film. There’s never really any threatening dopamine-inducing fear of death until the last 15 minutes. Apart from a few “we mean business” phone calls, the gravity of the situation doesn’t really have enough of an affect on the transporters – as if they’re only ever expecting a tap on the hand. The stakes aren’t raised soon enough and by the time they are… it feels a bit jarring, surprising like From Dusk to Dawn, but too late in the game.

Skeem is an independent South African character-driven crime comedy caper that is fun, zippy and entertaining. The money changeovers are well-written and it has a spicy, unpredictable atmosphere. Unfortunately, there are just too many unlikable characters with one too many subplots at play. This keeps the pace up, but makes the experience a bit too repetitive and clunky at times. Skeem has its flaws, but makes up for them with its zany mixed bag of characters, frenetic pacing and stand out comic performances in this difficult-to-master subgenre.

The bottom line: Frantic

Release Date: 28 October, 2011

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