One powerful film that premiered virtually at 2020’s Fantasia Film Festival is The Five Rules of Success. It gives a personal and unique view into the life of a released prisoner. The crime thriller was written and directed by Orson Obllowitz (Trespassers IFC Midnight.) Co-writer Christian de Gallegos (The Hurt Locker completes the dynamic team.) The film shines a harsh light on the realities of trying to go straight as it follows ex-convict X. Played by Santiago Segura, X has plans and goals to lead a successful life. And now that he has been liberated he tries to regain the power to control his own destiny.
Obllowitz not only wrote and directed The Five Rules of Success but, he also shot the film. It’s done in a way that highlights the isolation and disconnect of someone who has been in the system so long that even when X is alone, it still feels like someone is watching him. The camera views him from behind interspersed with experimental strobe-lit flashbacks as we are slowly shown just how far X has come.
Following incarceration from a young age, everywhere he turns a new wall is put up in front of him. The Five Rules of Success movie wants you to feel the injustice of X’s willingness to comply. The film is visually stunning and the cinematography lends to a story that wears you out. The simple task of trying to be a functioning member of society grinds like sandpaper against the tight and quiet calm exterior of X as he continues to follow his rules of success every second of the day.
Aim High Be Delusional
Performances from all cast members are outstanding. The restauranteur Avakian (Jon Sklaroff) gives him his first break and is the perfect picture of a hardworking Italian Family man with a rogue son who is nothing like he wants him to be. His son Danny (Jonathan Howard) with no moral compass and things to prove flits in and out effortlessly creating a silent vortex of trouble. X’s parole officer (Isidora Goreshter) with too much time on her hands eases into the facade of never feeling menacing until she’s standing in a hallway with X on his knees with a gun in his mouth.
The Five Rules of Success overall is a fabulous movie that refrains from the razzle and dazzle usually attributed to crime and its inhabitants. The film is a dark and seedy universe filled with forgotten parts of a larger circle. A total rumination of one person who slipped through the cracks and never got what he deserved.
“When I was a boy, they treated me as a man. Now that I’m a man, they treat me as a boy.”
Quote from The Five Rules of Success – X
Lastly, for The Five Rules of Success and its rule book of tips on how to succeed in life, see the Orson Oblowitz Facebook page. For streaming options and where to watch this title and more, see the link below. For another crime-based story watch Trust No One or Mope.
I give The Five Rules of Success
4 follow your vision and give back out of 5
The Five Rules of Success Streaming
The Five Rules of Success is streaming on:
The Five Rules Of Success Official Trailer
The Cast of Five Rules of Success includes Santiago Segura (MTV’s Scream: The TV Series), Jonathan Howard (Thor), Isidora Goreshter (Showtime’s Shameless), Jon Sklaroff (Captain America), and, Roger Guenveur Smith (He Got Game).
