The Gateway

When a social worker gets a little too wrapped up in his client and her dirtbag ex-con hubby comes home, things explode. It's got that made-for-tv feel.

Great take on parallel universes. It didn't need lots of special effects, the story line kept it engaging. Ignore bad reviews. The movie is understated but worth watching.

I actually liked the film. The hot mom was one of the motivations along with the great plot and superb acting. The movie was fast paced and I followed the entire storyline which I could also relate to in many aspects of the film. I will be adding this to my movie collection!

I had never heard about the 2021 thriller "The Gateway" from writers Alex Felix Bendaña, Andrew Levitas and Michele Civetta prior to sitting down and watching it here in 2022. All I knew about it was the fact that the movie Olivia Munn and Frank Grillo on the cast list. The storyline was actually enjoyable. Sure, it wasn't the most innovative or creative of plot concepts, but the storyline made for good entertainment, and that is what matters to me when I sit down and watch a movie. So the writers definitely put together something that worked here in "The Gateway". The narrative was adequately paced, some slow moments and some fast moments throughout the course of the movie, so it was a pretty nice enough movie experience. "The Gateway" does have a good cast ensemble. I am not overly familiar with Shea Whigham, but he did perform quite well in this movie, despite of having just a single grimace to put on in every single scene. So there was lacking a bit of facial expressions of emotions and such, but it seemed okay to the character, given the backstory and addiction to alcohol. Olivia Munn was definitely nicely cast and performed quite well, and it was nice to see Bruce Dern in the movie. It was a shame that Frank Grillo only had a small role in the movie, as he could have spruced it up quite a lot. Zach Avery definitely put on a noteworthy performance here. All in all then "The Gateway" was a good movie. I was definitely entertained by it. My rating of director Michele Civetta's 2021 movie "The Gateway" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Indeed, there is no end of action in writer & director Michele Civetta's "The Gateway," a grimy little thriller about an ex-con Mike (Zach Avery of "The White Crow") released from prison and goes back to serve his crime boss Duke (Frank Grillo of "Warrior"), while making life miserable for his wife Dahlia (Olivia Munn of "Ride Along 2") and his young daughter Ashley (Taegen Burns of "Blue Ridge"). Actually, it is a seedy little drama about a variety of losers. At the center of this mayhem stands the social worker hero, Parker (Shea Whigham of "The Lincoln Lawyer"). Whigham delivers a bravura performance, and you won't take your eyes off him. He is genuinely concerned about the people that he is compelled to help. Primarily, an orphan raised within the system himself who was abandoned by his gifted musician father Marcus (Bruce Dern of "Nebraska"), Parker lives to serve others until an obnoxious co-worker goads him into punching him out. Parker's superior hates this turn of events as much as she abhors having to fire him. Meantime, after Mike is back home running his wife and daughter crazy, he goes after a big score that belongs to the cartel. Ultimately, he stashes three bricks of heroin in his daughter's bag. Of course, Mike lied to Ashley about the contents, and she was told it was a gift for her mother. The relationship between Dahlia and Mike is a battlefield. Dahlia is desperate for help, and she turns to Parker. Valiantly, Parker intervenes again, but he has lost his job and the authority that came with it. The ending is downbeat. If you're expecting Frank Grillo to be in the middle of this fracas, you are going to be disappointed. He is confined to the periphery. "The Gateway" qualifies as an atmospheric thriller that won't satisfy with its abrasive ending.