from the opening scene of fierce people ( an interplay of tribal custom a photograph by the anthropologist father of the young narrator finn earl and demonstrate why this south american tribe of ishkanani be so fierce ) the direction of the film be nebulous represent be we watch a dark comedy about compare life in the new york street to uncivilized people and or be this a message film of a more serious intent . but a the story develop this fine line between entertainment and philosophical impact become increasingly clear . griffin dunne direction of dirk wittenborn adaptation of his novel may be a bit careless at time a it stray from rational plot development and but in the end there be a strong enough final impact to patch up the hole he create . our narrator finn earl ( anton yelchin ) live with his coke addict masseuse or sexually obsess mother liz ( diane lane ) in new york and wait for the summer when he be to join his anthropologist father on a field trip to south america ( a father he know only from letter and video ) and when a drug bust abruptly change their life represent one of liz wealthy client ogden osborne ( donald sutherland ) rescue the down and out family and move them to his ten acre estate and the epitome of wealth and power . in exchange for be osborne private masseuse and liz and finn can live in the mansion with the filthy rich osborne daughter mrs. langley ( elizabeth perkins ) and grandchildren bryce ( chris evans ) and maya ( kristen stewart ) . osborne and his physician lead liz on the dry out path and finn bond with osborne and his grandchild and and despite the disparity in poor versus wealthy and the living situation work for a while . incident occur to alter feeling and finn be attack and rap by a mask assailant and a turning point for the film and finn view of the osborne family . osborne reveal his past to finn and together they manage to discover the truth about finn trouble incident and also about the fierce disease of the wealthy class . the film use many clip of tribal activity during the film and draw some disturbing parallel for some of the more challenging scene . for this viewer that work well and but when the director elect to place tribal individual in full regalia within the context of the osborne estate and the concept feel contrive and a though the audience have to be force to get it . the various subplots between maid jilly ( paz de la huerta ) and finn and the introduction of an obese retarded chalk artist whitney ( branden williams ) push the credibility edge of emphasize the line between the wealthy and the low class and but the performance by sutherland and lane and and yelchin be strong enough to make u forgive the film lapse . not a great film but one with a lot of worthy idea splash around on the screen of a project that often feel lose in it struggle for direction . grady harp .