Three Heads Are Better Than One

These are the heads of Kerberos, guardian of the underworld. The concept of Good Guy - Good Guy never comes into play in the upcoming film Kerberos (www.kerberosbites.com). And rightfully so, as the hound only has three heads. But also because people are rarely, if ever, capable of being good guy-good guy for longer than a single action or series of interrelated events. Call it cynical if you like, but even saints are capable of cruelty and even sinners are capable of compassion. This recognition by writer/director Kely McClung is one of the more subtle yet engaging qualities about the project. The moral ambiguity gives depth to every character, large or small, both good and bad playing out onscreen as the results of choices made by each character. Ah, the existentialist dream!

Since the whole story spans only 36 hours, the consequences of each choice are going to be amplified in the microcosm that the film presents. That means violence. A lot of violence. But this isn't Quentin's violence-violence for violence's sake, gratuitous and shocking just because it can be. This is a more meaningful violence that more clearly illustrates the light and dark of each person. This duality is evident in more than just those three main characters. Every role becomes incredibly important because of this. And more than in just that warm, fuzzy "there are no small parts" kind of way. Every character has to be as believable bathed in benevolent light as they are ensconced in sinister shadow.

Enter: Jamal (played by the intimidating man in braids, Rock), hardcore gangsta and another admirable Good Guy - Bad Guy. Jamal protects his own, doesn't care about taking the money that isn't his, and has no need to flex for the Peckerwoods. He is just hellbent on eliminating Tony and Armstrong no matter the cost to himself. Don't know about you, but I really like that sense of justice.

Lo Wei, the enigmatic Asian character, brings balance and more than a little indirect humor, being called just about every ethnicity except actor Vince Canlas' own. Lo Wei himself is ever composed, detached, and purposeful. Even as he exchanges extreme unpleasantries with Vivian, Bad Guy - Good Guy Lo Wei is honorable and dispassionate, never getting caught up in the maelstrom of his boss Armstrong's bloodlust.

A more identifiable honor is displayed by crackhead hoodrat Darius (played by Hajji Golightly). Shot, beaten, and facing the business end of a Mossberg 590, Darius' first instinct is to save his brother. Knowing full well that his own end is going to be a messy one, either at the hands of the cops with whom he agrees to cooperate or on the streets when his neighborhood discovers how he tricked out for the boys in blue.

Good guys, bad guys, I sure as hell don't know. But Kerberos has certainly got plenty of characters with parts of both in whatever measure.