Frailty

Released 2001
Stars Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe, Matthew O'Leary, Jeremy Sumpter, Luke Askew
Directed by Bill Paxton

Heaven protect us from people who believe they can impose their will on us in this world because of what they think they know about the next. "Frailty" is about such a man, a kind and gentle father who is visited by an angel who assigns him to murder demons in human form. We are reminded that Andrea Yates believed she was possessed by Satan and could save her children by drowning them. "Frailty" is as chilling: The father enlists his two sons, who are about 7 and 10, to join him in the murders of victims he brings home.

"Frailty" is an extraordinary work, concealing in its depths not only unexpected story turns but also implications, hidden at first, that make it even deeper and more sad. It is the first film directed by the actor Bill Paxton, who also plays the father and succeeds in making "Dad" not a villain but a sincere man lost within his delusions. Matthew McConaughey plays one of his sons as a grown man, and Powers Boothe is the FBI agent who is investigating the "God's Hand" serial murders in Texas when the son comes to him one night, with the body of his brother parked outside in a stolen ambulance.

Summary by Roger Ebert

SPOILER ALERT - "Frailty" is an intense movie that reminded me of "The Rapture." Both movies are about old testament religion, and they both take their religion very seriously. They both open with fanatics whom we watch descend into madness...or do they? Religion is just so ridiculous when you take a step back and look at it, and it's frightening to watch someone take it seriously enough to kill. But what if they're actually right? What if God really did give them a mission to kill in His name? "Frailty" plays it straight with a story about a psychotic father/son team, but it hints at something bigger. FBI Agent Doyle (Powers Boothe) is a tad askew, and I expected him to surprise Matthew McConaughey's character at the end by morphing into a demon. I mean it was silly for Doyle to drive to a serial killer's graveyard by himself in the middle of the night, but we find out there's something bigger at work. My only quibble with the film is with the demons. Since the story is biblical, I expected the demons to be literally demons, but they're just killers who got away with it. If they were just human killers, then why call them demons? Still, the story is very strong, and it's quite a directorial debut by Bill Paxton. --Bill Alward, February 15, 2003