Go with Me

"Sure would be better for everyone involved if she just left town." Lillian (Stiles) has just returned to her hometown after years away. Once she becomes the target of a stalker she asks for help but only Lester (Hopkins) is willing to offer it. Now the two of them must not only find out who the mysterious Blackway is but stop him before things get too far. This is a movie that is first and foremost tense and a good mystery story. On the other hand the movie is a little generic and cliché and would be a really good TV movie if not for the cast. The cast in this really raises the movie above that. Hopkins is good and Stiles plays her part well, but there were a few plot points that were added and either forgotten about or didn't seem to fit with the rest of the movie. All that said, the movie isn't bad and is a decent watch for what it is. Overall, a really good TV movie that became more due to the casting alone. I give this a B-.

Daniel "brother of Tomas" Alfredson directed two parts of the Swedish Millennium Trilogy, so it's no wonder this chilly American thriller, filmed in British Columbia, should feel so... well, Scandinavian. If the lens were filtered any further the movie would be monochrome.

Julia Stiles plays Lillian, a stoic young woman living in a Pacific Northwest logging community, who's being bullied by local gangster Richard Blackway (Ray Liotta). When she goes to the sheriff she's fobbed off and told to leave town. Instead, she enlists the help of old-timer Lester (Anthony Hopkins) and young bruiser Nate (Alexander Ludwig). Together the trio head into the hills to track down Blackway and stop him for good – by whatever means necessary.

With confidence and determination in the face of grotty small town politics, Stiles is channelling something of Jennifer Lawrence's classic Winter's Bone performance here. Lillian's outlook is definite (and defiant) to a fault: "Some people are just bad," she concludes.

Alongside Stiles, Hopkins soft-spoken style is sometimes at odds with the confrontational nature of his character, but he's eminently watchable. And Ludwig is strong as a stuttering soulful warrior who could have been a swaggering cliché.

The first hour is all character-building, and this is where the film is at its strongest. The plot is simple and linear – the ideal foundation for characters to come alive through their interactions, often enriched by the vaguest mention of some unseen life; some mourned-for ex- wife. The dialogue rings true and the characters feel lived in, which is vital for depictions of tight rural communities.

There isn't much in the way of humour, but Go With Me is at least in touch with its absurdity, and it's a lot more fun than Scott Cooper's ostensibly similar Out of the Furnace. This film is fast- paced and full of interesting incident – up to a point. Unfortunately in the final reel the narrative unravels, and the climactic confrontation is a frustratingly dark, indistinct mess. It leaves you with a sense of hard work not quite paying off.

Overall it's a solid movie. Thanks in part to the terrible UK title (it's called Blackway in the US), it's likely to go unnoticed by a wide audience, but it deserves attention.

Released in 2015, "Blackway" is a crime drama/thriller starring Anthony Hopkins as a retired logger who comes to the aid of a harassed woman (Julia Stiles) in Pinterville, Oregon, after the yella sheriff refuses to help. Alexander Ludwig plays the young stuttering redneck who tags along while Ray Liotta appears as the titular heavy. Hal Holbrook has a small role.

This is a grim backwoods drama/thriller with elements of "The Edge" (1997), "First Blood" (1982), "Cry of the Owl" (2009) and "Walking Tall" (2004). It's not great like the first two, not even close, but it's almost on par with "Cry of the Owl" and slightly superior to "Walking Tall." Yet it never cops an unrealistic tone like "Walking Tall" does with its overblown final act. It's a low-key slow burn focusing on life in the logging communities in the Great Northwest.

Speaking of which, one of the best thing about "Blackway" is the mysterious forest cinematography. There are also some small gems to mine, if you watch closely, like the fact that "man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward." Trouble just comes in different packages, as Hopkin's character laments before the showdown.

"Blackway" is essentially a Western taking place in the modern day, substituting pickup trucks and bikes for horses. The movie's simple and straight-forward, which turns some people off. But since 'twist' films are so commonplace now playing it straight almost comes off fresh. I shouldn't close without pointing out that Stiles has better womanly curves now that she's older; and looks great in tight jeans.

The film runs 91 minutes and was shot in British Columbia (Enderby, Vernon, West Kelowna, Lumby, Armstrong & Vancouver). It was directed by Daniel Alfredson from Castle Freeman Jr.'s novel.

GRADE: B-

I don't get the bad reviews...it's a good plot, survival of the fittest. I think it's a film worth seeing just because of the plot. It felt like something real that actually happens. Sometimes you can't count on the authorities to help you because they just don't care and this film portraits that.

It's not the best film of your life but it's better than a lot of films nowadays. At least I didn't fall asleep like I did on Avengers or was it Captain America? Maybe it was Spider man or Iron man, not sure they all look the same. (PS: I never payed for these films, always got free tickets).

I've seen this at least a few times now, I get this film once and a while from my library, it's really good.

I'm not saying that it's anything too special but it's quite good none the less. The title I found it under was called "Blackway" the name of the main villain that Ray Liotta plays in the film. I'm surprised that the title was changed from "Go with me" because I thought only the book it's based on was called that, plus I thought it went into production under the title "Logging" since the character Anthony Hopkins plays works at a logging yard.

About the story, it's your typical evil sheriff that has the whole town scared of him, that has his hands into everything illegal type, but I feel that it's done at least a little fresh in this. Also the three heroes of the film, Anthony, the kid who plays Nathan and Julia Styles character go after looking for Blackway, to his illegal businesses and finally to his home to kill him. The action scenes are minimal at best since this is a thriller, but the running time is short enough that the action is satisfying to watch.

It's a simple story really, the reason our heroes go after Blackway is they have crossed paths with him and he has ruined their lives to some existent, I won't go into spoilers because I feel you should experience it for yourself.

On to the acting, the acting is quite good here, Ray Liotta is a good villain as usual, lately he has been in some stupid films and TV shows but I'm at least glad to see him in something decent for a change. Julia Styles is good as well, and she plays Lillian, Blackway's latest victim. I haven't seen her in very much, I have just recently seen her in "Save the Last Dace" which wasn't too bad. Anthony Hopkins plays the lead character Lester, honestly he is always great in a lot of films he is in, including this one. This is basically the latest film I've seen him in, I have recently seen him in the latest "Transformers" film which was at least better than it's predecessor, but honestly I could care less for that franchise, in the best way. The kid who plays Nathan, I'm sorry I don't know him, but he was good. I think I've seen him in "The Final Girls" if it's who I'm thinking about, the movie was alright and his performance was OK.

Overall a decently made thriller that is quite re-watchable. I give it 6/10. Sure it's flawed but what movie isn't, check it out.