In “Penang” The Only Thing That Matters Is The Guy Next To You
by Karen Tortora-Lee on November 12, 2009
Scott Raker (Tim Riordan) and Peter Sabri (Luke DeLuca), photo credit: Antonio Minino
It’s hard to isolate one simple element of James L. Larocca’s Penang (directed by Donya K. Washington) and point to it as the central theme. Penang unfolds a bit like an autopsy – it is an even, measured, calculated dissection of the life of Tim Riordan (Scott Raker) and an inspection of the elements which led him to do the unthinkable just moments before he was to leave Vietnam and go home.
While Penang starts off as a war story, it evolves into something more. It’s also a buddy story and at times it has the emotional bonding of a male Thelma and Louise … but of course, again, it’s more. It is a tale of survivor’s guilt, it’s a grown up Stand By Me, it’s a psychological investigation, it’s a bit of a mystery, but above all, it is a deeply moving story about one man’s personal journey as he explores his relationship with his faith, his country, his friends, and (most importantly) with himself. Nothing about Penang is easy to distill or explain – except the fact that this is a brilliant, moving production which brought me to tears, gave me chills, and exposed a layer of male bonding that I don’t often get to witness.
