Monday Muse: Boy Wonder

     Boy Wonder is a low-budget independent film, that debuted at film fests and comic cons across the United States, so it is certainly possible many of you may have missed it. I believe the film is available on Netflix Instant as well as at select Red Box stands, so if you haven't seen it I'd recommend watching it before reading this post, as I will be talking about the movie in it's entirety. The film is a dark psychological thriller much in the vein of Fight Club, as it has story that drastically changes once you figure out the perspective of the film. I'll delve into some of the more evasive aspects of the film after the jump. Spoilers below, beware!
     Boy Wonder, both written and directed by Michael Morrissey, is the story of a boy who witnesses tragic events that will plague his thoughts for the rest of his life. At an extremely impressionable age, Sean witnesses his mother's murder at the hands of a car-jacker. Flash forward to the future, where seventeen year old Sean appears to be doing well, getting good grades, but still seems to be distant, of which his father takes notice. Unbeknownst to Sean's father however, the boy is far beyond saving.
     Sean then indulges himself in some grim enforcement of justice, becoming a vigilante, and training in a local seedy gym for hours on end. When I first viewed the film, I missed the main distinction that the film attempts to make. As we see Sean descend more and more into darkness, his sense of 'justice' seems to loosen itself more and more. 
     His victims that once were pimps and drug dealers are now more innocent. He viciously beats up a homeless man on a bus, who, while being rather racist and obnoxious was certainly undeserving of the brutal beating he saw at Sean's hands. In perhaps one of the film's most disturbing scenes, Sean takes out his anger by pummeling a boy at a party who simply back-talked to his girlfriend. On my first viewing, this scene and the ensuing ending left me puzzled, but I was able to understand it when I was luckily able to see it again.
     Sean was disturbed at a young age, and scarred for life, much like Dexter Morgan in the self entitled show. This drives Sean to violence and aggressive tendencies. What I missed the first time however was the importance of one sole scene. In a flashback, Sean's father, in a drunken stupor of anger, assaults his mother and Sean cowers away from the incident. If close attention is paid, Sean always unleashes his fury on those who have either wronged or plan on wronging women. He protects the pimp's prostitute from a vicious beating, an Asian girl on the bus from unwanted advances by the homeless man, as well as a girlfriend being scolded by her boyfriend. 
     This is why he chooses to 'protect' his specific victims, but there is another reason for his disturbed version of justice entirely. Sean is certainly shaken by his mother's murder when he was younger, but possibly more than he leads on.
     The end of the film follows Sean tracking what he thinks is his mother's murderer, who also happens to be an old friend of his father. Sean envisions a plot between his father and the man, and this drives Sean to murder his own father in one of the films most shocking scenes. He then mails an envelope to the supposed murderer Larry Childs in prison. He give him an option, send the letter back, and if he was involved, use the black stamp. If he and his father weren't guilty, use the red stamp. 
     Thee film's meaning hinges on what the viewer chooses to believe, and their interpretation of these events. In one version, Sean has finally uncovered the truth of his father's awful ways, and brought him to his own disturbed version of justice. In mailing the stamps to Larry Childs, he gave him a way to admit to his guilt, but since he chose the path of lies and deception (by posting the red stamp, which Sean poisoned, anticipating he would lie), he met a demise that Sean felt was justified. 
     The other possibility is that Sean is so disturbed and damaged, that he is seeing connections and plots that do not really exist, as he tries to make sense of a nonsensical killing in his mind. The whole plot with his father and Larry Childs is all made up, as Sean attempts to cope with the events. Sean remembers the past differently, visualizing his father beating his mother, while in actuality they were having a simple disagreement. This would explain the 'flashes' when Sean sees violence towards women, and he worsens the situation in his mind. In the end, his father's cries for help, and suggestions that Sean see a counselor were justified, as the toll the event has taken on Sean is far worse than anyone had imagined. Sean's murder of both his father and Larry Childs (who had not lied, and in fact told the truth about the innocence of both himself and Sean's father) simply helped him complete the grand delusion, so that he may be at peace with his disturbed past.
     Either way you approach the film, it boasts a great story, and it will leave you pondering its events for days to come. The film has multiple interpretations, and it is easily one of the most arguable (I mean that in the best of ways) films I have seen in a while, and I can only recommend you view it and determine your own version of the film yourself.