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''Finestkind'' is a 2023 American
crime thriller Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...
film written and directed by
Brian Helgeland Brian Thomas Helgeland (born January 17, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film producer, and director. He is best known for writing the screenplays for the films '' L.A. Confidential'' (1998) and '' Mystic River'' (2003). He wrote and directed ...
. The film stars Ben Foster, Toby Wallace,
Jenna Ortega Jenna Marie Ortega (born September 27, 2002) is an American actress. She began her career as a child and received recognition for her role as a younger version of Jane Villanueva, Jane in The CW comedy-drama series ''Jane the Virgin'' (2014� ...
, and
Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Tommy Lee Jones, various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Scre ...
.


Plot

On a visit to
New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. At the 2020 census, New Bedford had a population of 101,079, making it the state's ninth-l ...
, college alumnus Charlie pays a visit to his elder half-brother Tom Eldrige, a
scallop Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve molluscs in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related famili ...
fisherman. Disillusioned with his systematic life, he asks Tom to take him on his upcoming fishing excursion, which he reluctantly agrees to. Sailing out on Tom's boat, the ''Harmony'', Charlie is introduced to the crew—Nunes a.k.a. "Nunesy", family man Costa, and drug addict Skeemo. Hours into the voyage, the ''Harmony'' suffers an internal explosion on rough seas, causing it to sink; the crew narrowly survives. Upon being rescued the following morning, the five go to a bar to celebrate their ordeal, where Charlie encounters Mabel, a small-time drug dealer. His wealthy father, Gary Sykes, who tracks him down, attempts to convince him against fishing, but is bluntly rebuffed. Later, the brothers visit Tom's employers; there, both Tom and his egotistic boss accuse each other of incompetence, which leads to a brawl, causing Tom to be fired. Later, Tom is approached by his aging father, Ray, who asks him to captain his boat, the ''Finestkind'', on a dredging excursion in his stead, which Tom reluctantly acquiesces to. Later, at a house party hosted by Costa, Tom informs the others of the assignment; whilst there, Mabel takes Charlie for a drug run, during which he meets her skeptical mother. After the meeting ends poorly, he crashes at Mabel's apartment, where the two share a passionate night. Waking up late the next day, the two learn that Tom is about to leave without him, in response, Mabel rushes Charlie to the harbor, barely making it to the ''Finestkind'' just before it departs. At sea, Tom decides to take the boat to illegally fish in Canadian waters in the hopes of securing more lucrative catches. The gambit nearly succeeds, but the boat accidentally ensnares itself in its fishing dredge and is spotted by a Canadian pilot who reports them. Returning to port, the ''Finestkind'' is seized by U.S. authorities, much to the crew's dismay. Resolving to tell Ray of the incident, the two learn he is hospitalized with terminal stomach cancer—the actual reason for his absence. Not wanting his father to die without his beloved boat, Tom approaches his former employers to bail him out on the $100,000 fine that had been conditioned for the boat's release but is scornfully rejected. Sympathetic to their plight, Mabel arranges for the crew to participate in a one-time heroin smuggling gig with Weeks, her mother's partner. Despite the crew's acceptance, Tom fears being caught but is convinced otherwise. The crew sail out to the drop spot, where a plane delivers the heroin. Returning to port, the brothers head off alone to meet Weeks, but are cornered by rival dealers, who make away with the heroin after subduing them. Realizing they have been betrayed, Tom accuses Mabel of snitching on them, leading to a fight which is witnessed by Ray. Consequently, Weeks corners the crew at Costa's home, having taken Costa's pregnant wife hostage. He forces them to deliver the heroin by the following morning, threatening them with death should they fail; he reveals that he had assaulted Mabel. After they leave, the crew helps Costa's wife, whereupon Tom disappears. Whilst searching for him, Ray corners Charlie, who divulges their quagmire. The next morning, Charlie meets Nunesy, who tells him that Tom had taken a pistol with him to see Skeemo. Realizing Skeemo was the snitch, Charlie races over to his place, arriving just as Tom is about to execute him. Charlie manages to convince him otherwise, opting to take their chances instead. Ray appears at Weeks' meeting point with an offer of $15,000 in exchange for leaving the crew alone. When Weeks refuses and proceeds to mock him, Ray shoots and kills him and two associates, just as the brothers arrive. Ray explains to an emotionally moved Tom that he would do anything to save him. Gary agrees to pay the fine on the boat, realizing he cannot change his son, whilst Mabel prepares to enter college. Finally free, the crew prepare to sail on the ''Finestkind'' once more, while an incarcerated yet happy Ray watches from a distance.


Cast


Production

In 2016,
Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal ( , ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor who has worked on screen and stage for over thirty years. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi ...
,
Ansel Elgort Ansel Elgort (born March 14, 1994) is an American actor and singer. He began his acting career with a supporting role in the horror film '' Carrie'' (2013). He gained wider recognition for starring as a teenage cancer patient in the romantic d ...
and
Zendaya Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman ( ; born September 1, 1996) is an American actress and singer. List of awards and nominations received by Zendaya, Her accolades include two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award. I ...
were attached to star in the film. In April 2022, it was announced that
Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...
had acquired the rights to the film. Filming began in
New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. At the 2020 census, New Bedford had a population of 101,079, making it the state's ninth-l ...
in April 2022. That same month, it was announced that
Tim Daly James Timothy Daly (born March 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Joe Hackett on the NBC sitcom '' Wings'' and his recurring role as drug-addicted screenwriter J.T. Dolan on ''The Sopranos.'' He starred as Pete ...
,
Clayne Crawford Joseph "Clayne" Crawford (born April 20, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Martin Riggs on the Fox series ''Lethal Weapon'' (2016–2018) and Teddy Talbot on the SundanceTV series '' Rectify'' (2013–2016), the la ...
, Aaron Stanford, Scotty Tovar and
Lolita Davidovich Lolita Davidovich (born Lolita Davidović; July 15, 1961) is a Canadian film and television actress, best known for portraying Blaze Starr in the 1989 film '' Blaze'', for which she received a Chicago Film Critics Association Award nomination. ...
had been added to the cast. Meghan Leathers also joined the cast in April 2022. Filming was completed in May 2022. Some of the crew have made claims of not getting paid, and injury while on set.


Release

The film premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
on September 8, 2023, and was added to the
Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...
catalogue on December 15, 2023.


Reception


References


External links

* {{Paramount+ 2020s American films 2020s English-language films Films shot in Massachusetts Films directed by Brian Helgeland Films scored by Carter Burwell Films with screenplays by Brian Helgeland Paramount+ original films American crime thriller films American crime drama films Works by Taylor Sheridan