Review: ‘DANNY. LEGEND. GOD.' (2021)
Petkov invites you into Danny’s world through pure charisma and then traps you in a boundless hell that keeps spiraling downwards.
★★★★
NR - Indie, Crime, Comedy (106 minutes)
dir. Yavor Petkov
“Danny is an influential city councilor and businessman in an unnamed Eastern European town. He is young and charismatic and some of the things he says are funny in the extreme. Danny has agreed to be the subject of a documentary on money laundering. But as soon as they arrive, Danny tells the film crew to forget about their script and just follow him and film everything. The documentary is now a feature called “DANNY. LEGEND. GOD.””
— Official Synopsis
Perhaps, the biggest achievement of this film is in solidifying Dimo Alexiev (Danny) as a certified acting legend, himself; all at once captivating, and completely repugnant from a character perspective. It’s true, Danny is comparable to the likeness of some of the biggest on-screen bad boys (Borat, Jordan Belfort, Steven Stifler). Only, the lens through which we experience the character is much more interesting than those aforementioned names (mostly). DANNY. LEGEND. GOD.’s claustrophobic framing forces the viewer into uncomfortably close quarters with Danny. Yavor Petkov knows, precisely, how the devolution of the characters will affect the viewer and proceeds anyways — his direction: satisfyingly implacable. For a feature directorial debut, you can’t really ask for more.
A “hipster” film crew is hired to follow Danny around a small, Bulgarian town and gain access to information regarding claims of money laundering against him. Susan (Kate Nichols), who leads the documentary crew on this ludicrous adventure, can no longer stomach what’s unfolding before her eyes: Danny berates the locals, exposes the crew to gratuitous sexual encounters, and even doubles down on his corruption, knowingly, in front of the camera. It’s his documentary now, and Susan eventually leaves because of this — leaving Jamie (James Ryan Babson), or “Junkie,” according to Danny, and an anonymous Cameraman (Tony Cheung) to fend for themselves against Danny’s twisted psyche.
The brilliance of DANNY. LEGEND. GOD. is that Petkov wrote it as if the film’s script completely de-rails itself just like the plot of the film. Sure, Danny’s over-indulgence is entertaining to start, but it becomes much more sinister [and unpredictable] towards the end. You start as a mere spectator of the situation: your perspective is that of the cameraman, unnamed and vaguely removed from the abuse that the rest of the crew must endure; but slowly your perspective becomes that of Jamie’s, tormented and mentally trounced by Danny throughout the film. That shift in perspective lends itself to the overall execution of the story, but there is some excess material that could have been cut to tighten the, sometimes, plodding pace.
While Alexiev’s performance is arguably the main reason to seek out this film, the rest of the performances are intriguing, too. They feel grounded — and that contrast with Danny’s character accentuates the rift between the absurdity of each situation and its encompassing reality. It’s not everyday that you meet a character like Danny, so having him in nearly every frame isn’t detrimental to the other aspects of the film. Though, if each of the other characters were given just an ounce more to do it would help justify the run time and pacing a bit more. Then again, this is Danny’s feature, and you’re reminded of it over and over again.
Every scene is, technically speaking, well executed. What glues everything together is the adrenaline that Rumen Vasilev injects into each frame through his cinematography. Broad, barren landscapes juxtaposed with tense interactions between people. There was no lapse in quality at any point throughout the film; proving that even first-time feature directors can make a solid debut. Petkov invites you into Danny’s world through pure charisma and then traps you in a boundless hell that keeps spiraling downwards. Half the fun lies in the progression — or rather, collapse — of individual character of not only Danny, but the supporting cast, too. It isn’t supposed to be fun, and yet unadulterated amusement awaits.
DANNY. LEGEND. GOD. is now available on Amazon Prime, iTunes, and Sky Store in the UK and Ireland, and it's coming to digital platforms in North America on July 20th, 2021.