An intriguing film attached to misleading marketing...

When this DVD first falls into your lap: nothing about it inspires confidence. It's written and directed by a first-timer, Robert Ethan Gunnerson; made in 2006 but only now getting released; and its cover depicts a relatively unknown actor (Peter Facinelli: Dr. Carlisle Cullen in the Twilight saga) attempting to look sullen in a hoody and red shades -- but coming across uncannily like Bono -- whilst surrounded by giant clichéd-detective-film-words like 'missing' and 'reward'.

What stops you throwing it into the 'save for rainy day where there's naff-all-else-to-watch' pile are the commendations proudly displayed on that same cover: 'Winner: Director's and Viewer's Choice Awards, The Indie Gallery Film Festival' and 'Official Selection: Hollywood Film Festival'. These people aren't mugs, are they?

No, no they aren't. But you must be patient with Arc if you're going to agree with them. And by that I don't just mean getting past the cover, but the opening ten-minutes and beyond. The film is incessant in its visual trickery and mixing of high and low brow. You will conclude it is chin-strokingly clever or downright ridiculous; possibly both.

Take the hodgepodge opening. We are greeted with a quote from the famous psychiatrist William James, before fading into a faux-episode of Cops; two officers, shot on hand-held camera in the dark, busting chops in the ghetto. From there we abruptly cut to a black-and-white scene of our coke-snorting protagonist Paris. He's standing there, half-naked and tattooed, staring moodily at a note on the floor; we could be watching Memento.

Paris is a former golden-boy cop, who now ignores that life so vehemently we hear the speaker on his answer-machine add 'oh, this is your mum by-the-way' before hanging up. But he hasn't entirely forgotten his A-grade upbringing, and it's his tendency to reel off famous quotes throughout that underlines the film's obsession with mixing gritty and magic realism.

Before the opening credits have even rolled he's driven to a drug deal, interrupted an act of gay fellatio, and cited a slice of Americana wisdom. Just in case you missed it, one of the guys he's interrupted asks: "Isn't that Abigail Van Buren?" Oh, and almost every scene plays out to eerie silence or a street-bangin' tune. In short, this is not a film that wears its influences or contrasts lightly.

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, of course, and at times it works rather well. I'm thinking particularly of the dashes of colour that litter the predominantly black-and-white shots. These are invariably linked to food and playfulness -- the toy pumpkin on Paris' car bonnet; a pack of multi-flavoured jelly beans -- and they underscore the surviving smidgen of hope that Paris and the audience cling to.

And these touches are necessary, because the overall picture is bleak. Despite those words on the DVD cover, Paris' quest to achieve redemption through saving a kidnapped kid is neither clichéd noir nor, ultimately, particularly uplifting.  We witness child prostitutes kept in cages, red-herrings set up and swiftly demolished -- literally, in the case of the paedophile neighbour and a baseball bat --, not to mention an ending that leaves things tantalisingly unresolved.

But it's worth persevering through it all. Yes, the over-elaborate camera-work and editing can grate, but by Arc's end you are totally absorbed in the story and even willing Paris on; credit is due to Facinelli for making such an arsehole sympathetic. It's his co-star, Raina-Simone Moore, who steals the show though. Playing Maya Gibbs, a prostitute not so much with a heart of gold as a head full of William James, she is witty, honest, and the real soul of the piece. Her effect on Paris is evident from their first scene together, when he remarks: "You're a replacement for a dumb whore but you're missing the dumb part; that's got me concerned."

Arc will have you concerned too at times, but it's never dumb and it ultimately matures into an enthralling and well-told story. Given that title -- and the fact the director wastes no opportunity in which to hammer-home the significance of story and character development -- its almost tempting to think he threw all this frustration the viewer's way on purpose. Almost.

Regardless, though, we can certainly look forward to what he'll produce next on the basis of this engaging, if flawed, debut.

Arc is released today.

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