The Product:
Back in 1990, Jim Belushi starred in a film called Mr. Destiny. The plot revolved around an average schmoe (guess who?) that believes his life was inexplicably altered when he missed an important play during a youth baseball game. One night, Michael Caine shows up as the title character, and offers Belushi a chance at a sort of karmic redemption. Sure enough, he wakes up the next morning with the existence he always wanted - and accompanied by the multitude of psychological and logistical issues that comes with it. Fast forward 11 years, and Daybreak takes up the same sci-fi like storyline. It offers an unlikely hero who loves every facet of his world except one - and he is desperate to make that wish a reality. Of course, he soon learns not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but unlike the handy Hollywood means of resolving issues, this is one man who may not find happiness at the end of his angst-filled alternative reality.

The Plot:
Jeff Stokes is a man who seemingly has everything. After four years in college and two in art school, he's become a successful comic book illustrator. He is also pursuing his passion for painting. He hopes to get an exhibit one day, but Los Angeles is a cutthroat creative community. Still, he's content with his wife Michele and his two stepsons and only sees a single failure in his otherwise fulfilled life - the lack of a biological child all his own. You see, Michele was married to a garage mechanic who died in a tragic car accident. She and Jeff were high school sweethearts, and they rekindled their romance after her loss. Unfortunately, Michele had her tubes tied after her second child, and doctors are unable to reverse the process. This leaves Jeff feeling empty. One day, he prays for children of his own, and when he awakens the next morning, his wish is granted. But it comes with consequences he could have never imagined. His new boys are out of control and highly strung. Michele is distant and dissatisfied. And he's no longer an artist. Instead, he works at a local Pennsylvania insurance company, providing 'doodles' for local flyers. Coming to terms with such a sudden switch may be more than this man can handle.

The DVD:
Daybreak is two thirds of a very effective speculative drama more or less marginalized by an unadventurous last act. It presents a fantastical premise in a completely plausible manner, and draws a great deal of strength from its uniformly excellent cast. Carved out of the "be careful what you wish for" school of narrative twists, we are meant to both sympathize and spit on main character Jeff Stokes. He's the shallow center of two familial situations that both appear fragile and destined to fail - at least from this miserable man's perspective. Granted, it's tough to see what's lacking in his initial situation. Though he has no biological child of his own, he does have all the trappings of a quality home life - loving wife, fine stepsons, good job. About the only awkward element is his clearly clichéd relationship with his anti-art father. So when actor Paul Clemens mopes about because his spouse is unable to spawn his seed (for perfectly legitimate and previously known reasons), we have a hard time sympathizing. True the lure of reproduction is standard motion picture storyline, but when the tides turn and Jeff is granted his wish, the resulting circumstantial chaos seems to be more comeuppance than calmative. In fact, there seems to be some manner of backwards criticism about abandoning your true self for the artificiality of social norms - i.e. fathering your own children.

It's a tenuous proposition, but longtime actor/novice filmmaker Michael James Kacey almost pulls it off. He keeps Jeff from being a total jackass while suggesting that his burning desire for more (or, in better terms, a more 'complete' adult reality) hides a myriad of much deeper personal problems. Thanks to Clemens, we are capable of caring for what is, at his core, a pretty pathetic man. During the alternative reality portion of the plot, Jeff is portrayed (through words, rarely through actions) as a drunken, abusive bore, the kind of man who selfishly whines away for the life he lost while taking out his continued failure and frustration on everyone around him. But Kacey also writes himself into a bit of a corner. His decision to turn everything around 180 degrees, to make the first half perfect existence into a second half slice of Hell on Earth means that the issue of a kid of his own is so important that it trumps every other element in his world - wife, mother, father, job, career, care-giving, consideration. Therefore, it makes truly identifying and sympathizing with Jeff a real challenge. Again, it's through Clemens (who still looks exactly as he did during his big bug transmogrification classic The Beast Within) and a careful control of the movie's many subplots that we build up enough compassion for how this will all conclude.

Sadly, Kacey stumbles a bit at the end. He has made everyone in the parallel plane miserable - husband, wife, kids, surrounding relatives - so you'd think that his denouement would result in some minor happiness for at least a couple of his characters. But instead, the ending is an exceptional downer, highlighting desperation more than resolve, and making one question the reasons for sitting through the previous 85 minutes. This is not to say that Kacey completely muffs it - there will be viewers who find the finale perfectly in-sync with everything that came before. But with empathy comes a desire for positive change. What we end up with is interpersonal modification for the sake of shock value, a wrap up that really doesn't achieve its noble aims. It could be the fact that the family surrounding Jeff deserves much better. Or it could be the exact opposite - they're too damaged to be redeemed. It doesn't help that wife Michele is so miserable. She's fails to resonate during the happier times, so we are left with a distinct impression that this woman will be nothing but wretched once Jeff seals his fate. In fact, when viewed outside the smaller moments and compared with the cosmic big picture, the movie's decision on how to resolve this issue seems mean and rather inane. It feels like another self-centered step in Jeff's already egotistical rationale. Up to this point, Daybreak is very decent. Afterward, it becomes harder and harder to defend.

The Video:
Aside from one major digital flaw, the DVD release of Daybreak by Anthracite Films is actually very good. The colors are bright, the details definitive, and the overall print projects professionalism and polish. Unfortunately, all this effort is wasted on what is, by 2007 standards, a rather archaic transfer concept. Is there really a need for a non-anamorphic letterboxed presentation (around 1.85:1, for those interested) in these days of HD-DVD, widescreen TVs and almost universal 16x9 release standards? Perhaps there is a budgetary basis for avoiding such a specification, but this company won't be making home theater aficionados very happy with such a strategy.

The Audio:
Also somewhat subpar is the Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 mix offered. Most of the dialogue is subdued and pensive, and Karey seems to believe that this will extend a sequence's inherent drama. Unfortunately, it also means that the volume has to be cranked up far beyond normal, which results in music cues and sound effects frequently overriding the conversations. While this might be an issue of modulation only, a clear creative conceit makes Daybreak difficult to completely comprehend.

The Extras:
Consisting of more material than most mainstream releases receive, Daybreak is given a great deal of excellent added content as part of its package. First up is a full length audio commentary from director Karey and his cinematographer Cameron Cutler. They discuss, at length, the production pitfalls they faced, the origins of the narrative, and their satisfaction with the final result. It's a genial and detailed discussion, one that really helps put the film, and its flawed ending, into perceptive. Even more interesting is a version of the movie entitled Daybreak: Day to Day. Offering a breakdown of the material shot on each day of production, Karey is on hand to describe the moments of makeshift improvising, location problems, and actor issues. It's an intriguing way to view the final product, and the alternative narrative track really acts as an informative, illustrative how-to testament. Finally, there is a selection of deleted scenes which do add a bit of context to some of the subplots. Add in a trailer and you've got a compelling collection of bonus features.

Final Thoughts:
Since it is more of a triumph than a failure, because it can use the guaranteed goodwill of Paul Clemens performance to get us over the weaker elements, Daybreak should be considered a semi-success. Indeed, there will be those who easily overlook any and all misapplied motives and questionable narrative twists and view this movie in much more magnanimous terms. For our discussion, Michael James Kacey's earnest effort deserves a rating of Recommended. In fact, for the information packed in the DVD itself, this title would be a worthy companion piece to any would-be filmmaker's frame of reference. It's just too bad that the movie's ending couldn't match the eloquence and effectiveness of its beginning. Daybreak wants to discuss the ramifications of wishing your actual life away in hopes of achieving that one elusive element keeping you from complete happiness. But the answer seems a tad too pat to be prophetic, and too dour to be definitive.

Everyone wants to change something in their lives. but what if a desire to change the past completely destroyed the present and future? That’s the idea behind “Daybreak,” the feature film debut of indie director Michael James Kacey. What if a wish came true... but brought terrifying chaos with it?

“Daybreak’s” tragic tale explores what happens when a building artist named Jeff Stokes (Paul Clemens) wishes that his infertile wife, Michelle (Debra Henri), could conceive a child. They live contently in a small Pennsylvania community, but content isn’t enough for Jeff. He needs to have children of his own. he wants them more than anything.

One day, Jeff’s life is different. His wishes have been fulfilled. He and his wife have their
own children. But major portions of his past have changed. Jeff no longer paints;
instead, he works full time as an insurance agent. His failed artistic endeavors have turned him into an angry, bitter man, and that’s just a seed of the dark revelations that are about to surface.

Kacey (who also wrote and produced the film) has an intriguing -- albeit dark -- premise. Once “Daybreak” reveals itself as a bleaker version of “The Twilight Zone,” there’s no stopping it as Jeff is burdened by one horrible plague after another. Yet, despite the grim nature of the film, it doesn’t feel depressing or unpleasant. Quietly, “Daybreak” draws the audience in until they’re engrossed in the fascinating emotional hell Jeff has created for himself.

Well, not completely engrossed. The story is interesting, but it’s difficult to get involved when the actors lack depth, charisma, and chemistry. While Paul Clemens holds his own and Jeff Bergquist delivers a startling performance as Jeff’s tortured father, most of the acting is terrible. Debra Henri -- most notably -- misses the mark in almost every scene. Her performance weakens the very structure of the film. Because of so many weak performances, “Daybreak” holds the audinece at an uncomfortable distance.

I look forward to Michael James Kacey’s next film. “Daybreak” is proof that his ideas are fresh and engaging; i just hope he can find better actors. If he made this film on a budget of 500 grand, image what he can do with several million and some a-list actors....

A great not-so-wonderful-life movie.


If you can make it past the establishing scenes without getting antsy about the film’s budgetary limitations and inexperienced cast, then the story hook is enough to hold you until the performances can take over, which they eventually do with the glorious rawness of actors daring to explore their alternate selves, perhaps for the first time. There is so little separating the movie’s world from their own---even if you’re living in a mansion---that you feel the pains and exasperations the characters are feeling, and as much of a downer as the movie becomes, it is also an invigoration, putting you in touch with yourself and your relationships the way very few glossier films could hope to.

There is, however, an additional and exceptional special feature that makes the dvd even more worthwhile, ...Kacey’s blow-by-blow description of the adventures he had rallying his troupe and coping with the inevitable cascade of crises is, in effect, a second movie, a ‘how to’ film about film production.