Benedict Cumberbatch’s Riveting Work Makes ‘Third Star’ a Must-See

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Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Though Benedict Cumberbatch has been delivering fine work in film and television for the past decade, he hadn’t received a great deal of attention until last year, when he played strikingly diverse characters in Oscar bait such as “War Horse” and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” while earning legions of fans on BBC’s “Sherlock.” He’s such a deft chameleon that it’s easy for audiences to overlook his formidable body of work.

In Hattie Dalton’s “Third Star,” which is currently available via On Demand, Cumberbatch delivers the sort of performance that would be considered a Best Actor front-runner this awards season—had it been delivered by George Clooney. As James, a 29-year-old man stricken with cancer, Cumberbatch is utterly wrenching without ever once settling for easy clichés. Though he says early on that, “The sickness may be mine but the tragedy is there’s,” referring to his loved ones, it’s clear that he desires more life than his body can give him. Hence, he’s in dire need of escape.
 
Much of the action takes place on the rugged coastal terrain of Barafundle Bay in West Wales, where James’s three friends have taken him for what they hope will be a life-giving vacation. Davy (Tom Burke) is currently unemployed and has been putting all of his effort into assisting his ailing and increasingly frail friend. Bill (Adam Robertson) is in the midst of a relationship that has escalated in its seriousness, yet has left him feeling ambivalent and uncertain. Miles (JJ Feild) is an icy intellectual whose once-close friendship with James was a victim of competitiveness (both men are writers). He has no qualms with sharing his disbelief in an afterlife and doesn’t bother sugar-coating it either. In fact, the entire picture had a refreshing lack of sentimentality. Vaughan Sivell’s dialogue includes the sort of scathing observations that are so brutal, they could only be said among friends without leading to a fistfight (though the film has no shortage of those). At a slim 92 minutes, the film is a trifle overcrowded with dramatic revelations, violent outbursts and a rich assortment of emotional baggage. There are elements of comedy as well, though the obscene wrongheadedness of the characters’ trip destination is a bit difficult to swallow. They couldn’t have picked a worse place to bring a dying man, apart from the morgue. The expected complications that arise threaten to tear the friends apart, as they angrily hurl numerous valuable possessions into the water, including common sense.

JJ Feild, Tom Burke, Benedict Cumberbatch and Adam Robertson star in Hattie Dalton’s Third Star.
Photo credit: Western Edge Pictures

Despite these rather silly aspects of the plot, “Third Star” has moments that are so deeply touching that they cause most of the flaws to evaporate from memory. Consider the scene where the guys make the bone-headed decision to shoot fireworks despite the windy weather and accidentally set one of their tents on fire. As the men scramble to put out the flames, James continues to laugh at the absurdity of it all. His illness has allowed him to put many things in perspective, but his newfound wisdom hasn’t exactly provided him with great tact. On random occasions, James accosts his friends with bitter rants about how they’re wasting their lives and must savor every last drop of it. These aren’t the sort of queasily heartrending monologues that clog the Lifetime channel. James is frighteningly candid in his remarks, though his outbursts could easily have been provoked by morphine. His friends, however, are just as unpredictable in their mood swings. Each man’s life has arrived at its own crossroads, and there were moments early on—particularly during the slo-mo footage of the friends’ blissful antics—where I became worried that the film was going to culminate in a mass suicide a la the dreadful “I Melt With You.” Thankfully, Dalton’s film is far more thoughtful about matters of life and death, as well as the bonds between men and their vitality at a time of crisis.

In the opening shot, James’s face is briefly superimposed against a starry night sky, much like John Merrick’s mother in “The Elephant Man.” Like Merrick, James’s fate is doomed by incurable disease, and yet his mind remains stubbornly, restlessly alive. [Semi-Spoiler Alert!] He has a stunning monologue near the end of the film where he reveals the grand design of his plans, and his reasons behind going on this trip with his friends. Without giving too much away, it is apparent (even before the film’s final act) that James is debating whether or not he wants to live out the rest of life while writhing in agony. Ending his life prematurely would allow him to momentarily break the numbness of his physical existence and feel truly alive during his last minutes of consciousness. As James shares these feelings with his friends, he renders them speechless and ends up retreating apologetically into his shell. Cumberbatch is so devastating in this scene that he transcends the flawed material and makes it sing. It is one of the year’s best performances.

Benedict Cumberbatch and JJ Feild star in Hattie Dalton’s Third Star.
Photo credit: Western Edge Pictures

I watched “Third Star” a few days before the apparent suicide of Tony Scott. It’s still unclear whether this act was spurred by a diagnosis of inoperable cancer, and it’s obviously no one’s business but those closest to him. Yet the tragedy of his death undoubtedly caused many to reflect on the reasons why one chooses to end their lives. I imagine many people in James’s situation struggle with the same questions he has about his untimely fate, and whether he should take it into his own hands. Regardless of where one stands on such an issue, it’s impossible not to empathize with James as he reaches his decision. Viewers who watch “Third Star” with skepticism and incredulity may find themselves with tears in their eyes by the time the credits roll.

By MATT FAGERHOLM Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com matt@hollywoodchicago.com