FAVOR: How Far Would You Go For A Friend?

Director and writer Paul Osborne brings us a fantastic film about friendship, loyalty, self gratification and jealousy in the 2013 FAVOR. From the opening scene of the film the dramatics of manipulation unfold between the two characters. Kip (actor Blayne Weaver) and Marvin (actor Patrick Day) are shown sitting in Marvin’s living room where Kip sits uncomfortably, struggling to reveal a life changing situation that just occurred that evening. Kip begins to share stories with Marvin about their childhood, reminding Marvin how long they’ve known one another. Marvin asks about Kip’s current life and we begin to see the tale of two very different lives. One measured by success and fulfillment and another without. All that success gets flipped on its head when Kip says, “I need you to help me move a body.”

That scene serves as a vital part of the movie in my opinion. It was self-proclaiming on Marvin’s part by saying that he had nothing going for him, no job, no wife, no money, no ties save for this successful childhood buddy who never left “the loser.” The scene really leaves you thinking… how far would you go for friend?

We begin to see the struggles between the two friends when it becomes clear that the favor really isn’t “free”. I loved this film. Just when I thought I had a scene figured out it would prove me wrong by taking a different turn. Paul Osborne did an excellent job at keeping the story so fresh that you never felt as if the ongoing plot could expire.