The couple are then out driving one day when they are in an accident and forced off the road. Alice is strangely drawn to an old antique shop near where the accident took place and runs off to it almost getting hit by cars while racing across the road. Alice discovers the brass teapot and steals it while the old woman is in the back of the store. At first Alice thinks she is drawn to the teapot because of its beauty but one pinch leads her to the real reason. Alice notices every time she hurts herself that the brass teapot shoots out wads of cash. John comes home that same day to find the house destroyed and splatters of blood on the floor. He soon finds Alice in her bed all beat up and thinks someone has broken into the house. It isn't long before Alice tells him that she inflicted the wounds herself and John tells her that he has been fired. Of course, Alice thinks the teapot is the answer and better than an actual paycheck. Before long they are trying to find all kinds of ways to inflict pain onto themselves from going to the dentist to initiating bar fights because the more pain the more money they receive. It isn't until later in the film that the two discover that anyone within proximity of the teapot experiencing pain will cause it to payout.
It isn't long before Alice and John go from living in a dump and driving a pinto to living in a luxurious estate and driving a BMW. The teapot starts to draw out a darkness within the couple as it had done all of the previous owners. For example, the teapot originally belonged to Hitler and the owner of the antique shop was a Jew who had stolen it from him while in one of the camps. Yes, the teapot was responsible for the Holocaust. So it is safe to say that this shiny teapot is bad juju and anyone who owns it is in a shit load of trouble. However, Alice and John think they are different and the good guys no matter what anyone says. Even when warned by Steve Parks' character who flies all the way from China to recover the teapot and rid it from the world. The teapot can't be destroyed but can be hidden away but John and Alice think our Chinese friend just wants it for himself. It isn't until the couple see for themselves the amount of harm that the teapot can do that they decide it may be best to get rid of it.
The Brass Teapot is a dark movie that focuses on the fable of the American Dream. People can work hard their wholes lives to only be shit on and continuously passed over. So when that easy out comes along then of course it is natural to want to take it. But with every choice comes a sea of consequences and that is what The Brass Teapot is all about. All-in-all, it was an enjoyable movie that had great performances and an intriguing storyline but what I appreciated most about the film was what it represented. Rather you buy the DVD or watch it on Netflix, The Brass Teapot is one film worth checking out.
Score: 9 out of 10
Movie Information
Released: Friday, April 5 (Magnolia Pictures)
Production: Northern Lights Films, Queen Nefertari Productions, TFI International, Atlantic Pictures, Laundry Films
Cast: Juno Temple, Michael Angarano, Alexis Bledel, Billy Magnussen, Alia Shawkat, Bobby Moynihan, Stephen Park, Debra Monk
Director: Ramaa Mosley
Screenwriter: Tim Macy
Producers: Kirk Roos, Darren Goldberg, James Graves, Ramaa Mosley
Executive producers: Diane Nabatoff, P. Jennifer Dana, Mandy Gray, Erik Rommesmo, Jeff Schlossman, Anthony Gudas, Michael Corso, Lanre Idewu, Cynthia Stafford
Director of photography: Peter Simonite
Editor: Ryan Folsey
Production designer: Elizabeth Jones
Costume designer: Malgosia Turzanska
Composer: Andrew Hewitt
Rate: R
Runtime: 101 minutes