By: debbie lynn elias
Remember when you were a kid and pretended to fly around the house as your favorite super hero? Stronger than any human, making muscles and grimacing faces pretending to have power, broom handles and sticks were laser guns, marbles were exploding little bombs or great for getting a laugh as you watched your sister careen down the stairs from slipping on them. Screwdrivers were great for breaking and entering to save those held captive, paperclips served well as slingshots, while lightening bugs in a jar represented your secret power and gave you “night vision”. As a kid you were fearless and had dreams of saving the world and all mankind. Thankfully, writer/director Peter Stebbings retained those childhood fantasies as he now reawakens that sense of innocence, fantasy and adventure in each of us with his interpretation of the comic book hero/vigilante with DEFENDOR.
Arthur Poppington is a simple man. Raised by his grandfather, he is a little bit slow, and not the brightest bulb in the box, but he has a heart of gold and sense of innocence and purity that is infectious. Abandoned by his mother at a young age thanks to her preference for hooking, drugs and alcohol, Arthur has long believed he lost his mother to “Captain Industry.” Now an adult, Arthur works on a construction site, holding traffic signs. His best friend, Paul, helps him at work and tries to look out for him, and while Arthur appreciates Paul’s friendship and help, he is fiercely independent.
Unknown to everyone, Arthur has never recovered from the loss of his mother and has spent his life preparing for the day when he would take revenge on “Captain Industry” for taking his mother away from him. So now, although he is mild mannered Arthur Poppington by day, by night he becomes DEFENDOR, defender of the innocent, combing the streets in search of the evilest evil – “Captain Industry.” Dressed in black with a duct-taped “D” on his sweater and military black camo on his face, DEFENDOR lives in a warehouse where he practices his super hero skills behind the secret Defendor Door, driving a truck protected by the Defendor Dog (aka the Mack truck Bulldog), planning each attack with childlike military precision.
As we all know, fighting crime is a tough job making it essential that every super hero have a sidekick. Initially, just as we are all taught as children, “the policeman is our friend”, DEFENDOR seeks help from the police, but is quickly dismissed by them as being silly and ridiculous. But, assistance finds it way to DEFENDOR in the form of a young prostitute named Kat. Saved by DEFENDOR from the clutches of rogue undercover cop, Chuck Dooney, Kat becomes DEFENDOR’s link with the outside world, helping him obtain crime-fighting equipment and providing him with “inside” information on “Captain Industry”, a drug and arms dealer who abused Kat.
Between DEFENDOR’s childlike innocence and Kat’s street smarts, DEFENDOR takes aim at “Captain Industry” in a battle of good versus evil, proving that each of us can make a difference if we just try.
There is no one I can imagine but for Woody Harrelson in the role of Arthur Poppington/DEFEND OR. Harrelson steals your heart, radiating innocence and bringing a childlike vulnerability and naive sense of invincibility to the role. The character of DEFENDOR is so endearing. Using the ingenuity of a child in his battles – lime juice, marbles, duct tape, wasps in a jar; – everything is the direct opposite of what “Captain Industry” would do proving that sometimes the simplest solution is the best. Harrelson is magical in conveying DEFENDOR’s conviction and belief in goodness and light. Particularly moving are scenes as Arthur wherein he is speaking to psychiatrist Dr. Park explaining how he gets through the hard times by “going to a happy place.” If Harrelson hasn’t captured your heart by then, he does in those moments. Particularly notable is Harrelson’s interaction with Sandra Oh’s Dr. Park. As DEFENDOR opens up to Dr. Park, we see a change come over Harrelson’s facial expressiveness. He smiles. His eyes sparkle. But then just as quickly, he shuts down when Dr. Park tries to open doors to “bad things.” He walks this delicate emotional tightrope with seamless grace and ease.
Kat Dennings is wonderful as Kat.
Exuding a waifish but street smart demeanor, at her core, Dennings makes Kat as vulnerable as Arthur. A dreamer who wants to be a journalist “like Lois Lane”, Dennings makes you feel for the character. You want Kat to be saved. You want her to become Lois Lane. One thing that stands out in Kat’s characterization is her make-up, reminding me of a little girl who got into her mother’s make-up while playing dress up and tried to make herself look grown up. Charming touch. And the chemistry between Dennings and Harrelson is undeniable. Dennings plays Kat as a little lost soul who sees the light with the light being the purity in Arthur.
Being bad, yet again, is Elias Koteas, as bad cop Chuck Dooney. Koteas is just a bad guy. Giving Dooney no real depth, he is a flat out bad guy – something that plays well in delineating the “good versus evil”. To a child, and in the world of the best graphic novels and comics, there are no shades of grey. Everything is black and white, good or bad. Koteas is just plain old bad making it easy for the DEFENDOR to zero in on him.
Initially I wasn’t too comfortable with Sandra Oh’s performance as Dr. Park. However, as the film progresses, she takes on more dimension and emotion. Her icy exterior melts and her own childhood hopes and dreams seem reinvigorated by the fantasy of a DEFENDOR, a knight in shining armor come to save little girls everywhere. Oh’s look softens. She becomes more fluid. She leans in to Arthur, not away or stick straight in the chair. Very subtle and nuanced physical expression by Oh.
Written and directed by Peter Stebbings, never would I have guessed that DEFENDOR marks Stebbings’ directorial debut. Given what I see in DEFENDOR, I can’t wait to see what Stebbings has next up his sleeve. There is a great purity of spirit in the story that is refreshing and heartwarming. DEFENDOR has an honesty of conviction and clear delineation of right and wrong/good and bad which extends itself to theories of “everything is black & white”, and wraps into a nice tie-in with Kat/Lois Laneanalogy with her work as an “investigative reporter.” Very well structured in terms of script and integrating characters and the story as a whole.
The dialogue is particularly effective given the tonal differences between “reality” and the clipped comic book/graphic novel fantasy styling of DEFENDOR’s world. And it is the tonal differences between the two worlds that adds a comedic element without becoming camp. Double entendres, tongue in cheek references, the characters’ names. All nicely done. Very effective, without being maudlin or overkill is one of the film’s permeating messages that one person can make a difference. Every life DEFENDOR touched, he changed. And without being a spoiler I will say that Stebbings goes for the unpredictable with the ending, pulling it off beautifully and effectively.
Lensed with striking balances between dark and light, David Greene’s cinematography parallels and advances the story, further clarifying Stebbings vision of good versus evil.
Smartly written, extremely well acted, you’ll be in your own happy place on seeing DEFENDOR.
Arthur Poppington/Defendor – Woody Harrelson
Kat – Kat Dennings
Chuck Dooney – Elias Koteas
Dr. Park – Sandra Oh
Written and directed by Peter Stebbings.
