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Here’s an interesting little film for those of you who enjoy movies like “Seven”.  “The Flock” is a nifty suspense/thriller that borrows from (or pays tribute to, depending on your viewpoint) that other movie, mostly in the way it is filmed and in some of the settings, but it is distinct enough to deserve a chance for a spot on your queue.  I’ll admit right off that I had not heard of it until about an hour before I saw it, but now I wonder how it slipped by unnoticed.

            Richard Gere plays Erroll Babbage, a shoddily named administrator in the Department of Public Safety.  His job is to monitor registered sex offenders in his area and he is very, very committed to keeping them in line. He has begun to take their crimes personally and is playing detective on some unresolved issues.  He’s so fanatical and hostile that they have even formed an anti-Babbage support group, but Babbage is not beyond showing up there to threaten them if he deems it necessary (he makes them cry…awwww). This sort of behavior is not endearing him to his coworkers and superiors. Babbage is being ridden out on a rail.  He has 18 days to train his wide-eyed rookie replacement (Clair Danes) before he is forced into “retirement”. This also puts him on a major time limit for solving some missing persons cases he’s convinced his people are involved in.

            We are given explanations on why Babbage has become the way he is, but not why the conduct has been allowed to continue for so long. He’s turned into Hercule Poirot and Dirty Harry Callahan when he’s supposed to be not much more than a census taker.  He doesn’t call for backup when he gets into a situation, though that may be due to his reputation being known by the local police, and he is suspect numero uno when vigilante incidents occur. Not terribly realistic, but it is entertaining.

            I have heard that there are 2 different versions of this film.  The original cut has been heavily dissed.  In the more recent rendering, which is the one I happened to see, there has been reshooting and re-editing which seems to have swayed some of those who criticized it previously.  The word is, if you saw this film before May 2008 find the do-over and give it a second look (Hint: If you see a wolf in the film, you are watching the newer edition.).