An Angry Boy starts off with a cleverly misleading setup. Owen (Scott Callenberger) is caught on camera stopping an ATM robbery. Okay, so he’s an angry vigilante, hence the title. Not so. Post-opening credits, we learn about Owen’s suspiciously guarded life. His mother Kathy (Laura Frenzer) greets him and his best friend Ricky (Caleb Lowery) at the door, as they get to Owen’s home after school. A joke is made that Kathy keeps a baseball bat at the ready. But why? Andrew Fitzgerald’s film An Angry Boy is a noble, if difficult film to watch because it tackles some pretty nauseating subject matter.  It isn’t the best revenge thriller but a handful of solid performances, some sharp editing, and fearlessness elevate the overall film.

Andy (Eric Roberts) Stands atop a hillside in the New England forest. He preaches to himself amidst a campsite of empty tents. He speaks of a better way of life, a new place to live in peace. But at what cost? Furthermore, who the hell is this guy and who is he preaching to? We jump back to Owen and learn a bit more about his, let’s say, struggle. As Owen stays after school to clean gum from the underside of desks, he keeps seeing a young boy with a backpack wandering the highschool campus. Things get weird when this same kid is spotted wandering the halls when no one else is around. That’s when criminal Mark (Thomas Cambridge) executes a brutal home invasion on Owen’s home. We realize there is a reason for  Kathy’s baseball bat. Yet further details are revealed that set Owen on a course of revenge that no one can deter him from. There is the angry boy in An Angry Boy for you.

Mark is from Owen’s past. You mean a high school student has a past? Yes, and it ain’t pretty. What follows is Owen’s pursuit of vigilante justice against an underground network of abusers and criminals. For the most part, the film works well. The pacing is brisk with Crystal House‘s aforementioned editing and Fitzgerald’s keen focus on action and story rather than cathartic dialogue. We are allowed a sense of discovery in the film’s early plot developments that is refreshing, hence my struggle to explain the premise and set up the plot. The less that you know the better.

What doesn’t work are the developments in the second act. In particular the character Jane (Lauren McCann). There is literally no other reason for this character to exist aside from the transparent utility she delivers to the story. To be very clear, McCann is great in the part. It’s just that the part is inexplicable and unnecesary.

Circling back on the good, I feel that Frenzer’s Kathy has far too little screen time. She is a joy to watch and holds a certain energy that the film was thirsty for. Additionally, the chemistry between she and Ricky’s mother Jenna (Mia Y. Anderson) could have been the heart of the film.

All said, An Angry Boy is a an interesting, if only moderately entertaining revenge picture. Yes, there are a few impressive moments of practical gore, yes we dive into some difficult subjects. But if the film had found a bit more levitity, this might have been a firm reccomendation.