Film Review: Bad Hurt

The Kendall family is on the verge of collapse; parents Ed and Elaine have been pushed apart by the stress of caring for their mentally handicapped adult daughter Deedee and their son Kent who returned from Iraq with severe PTSD and a painkiller addiction. All while their other son Todd tries to hold things together and live up to the expectations of his father and reputation of his brother as he drives a city bus and waits to be bumped up from the police reserves to the actual police force. But the Kendalls are forced to start confronting and opening up to each other as unfortunate events begin to come in quick succession.

Bad Hurt is a well-constructed character drama featuring a solid script and strong performances from all of its lead actors, especially from Theo Rossi as Todd and Iris Gilad as Deedee. Director Mark Kemble does a great job of balancing the heavy dramatic storylines with some awkward bits of humor that involve but are not at the expense of the film’s mentally handicapped characters. The credits also indicate that the film is based on a stage-play, but it doesn’t feel location-bound as many adaptations do. The filmmakers made sure to give the viewer multiple recurring locations to fill out the world of Bad Hurt.

Bad Hurt is in limited release and is available now on VOD. I recommend Bad Hurt as a solid indie drama with a strong cast.

Bad Hurt (2015); Director: Mark Kemble; Starring: Theo Rossi, Karen Allen, Michael Harney