LaRoy, Texas

Laroy, Texas is a Fargo-esque movie by writer/director Shane Atkinson. He has for sure watched and enjoyed movies by the Coen Brothers. He doesn't have the same talent but he has for sure been influenced by the Coen Brothers and he's certainly good enough to make an entertaining movie in Fargo style. Good dialogues between the two major characters, an interesting story with the necessary twists and turns to keep it interesting, and a good doses of black humour. The entire cast were believable in their roles, enjoyable characters in a wild story that makes this genre of movies just highly entertaining.

LaRoy, Texas is a film that feels like a snowball, rolling downhill and picking up chaotic layers with each new action and choice made by its characters. This constant build-up kept the story engaging and entertaining for me, as every twist made things feel more complicated and unpredictable. The comedy throughout worked well to add some lightness, but at times, it felt like it held back the story from reaching the more intense or satisfying moments I hoped for.

The characters are well-written and bring a quirky charm to the film. However, while they were fun to watch, they lacked real growth or depth. They acted consistently within the story's wacky tone, but I found their actions to be a mix of well-crafted and somewhat clunky moments that didn't always hit the mark.

The direction was stable and well-executed. There are some great shots and compositions, with editing that kept a steady rhythm that matched the story's pacing well. The beginning of LaRoy, Texas does a good job of setting up expectations, holding out plenty of potential scenarios for the story to take. However, by the end, it falls just short of fulfilling those expectations. There's a sense that the movie could have reached a more powerful conclusion if it had taken a different narrative path or gone deeper into the characters' motives.

In the end, LaRoy, Texas is fun, quirky, and visually well-made, but it leaves something to be desired in the story's payoff.

A completely washed up loser, Ray (John Magaro) finds out his wife is having an affair and plans to kill himself. However he inadvertently gets mistaken for a hit man and is given a pile of cash. Through various circumstances he accidentally kills the target with the complex outcome involving his brother, wife, the real hit man and over confident wannabe PI Skip (Steve Zahn) causing him to be placed in all kinds of trouble.

Very Coenesque, this features a lot of sometimes fun, sometimes silly and annoying rather cliched caricatures as they attempt to extricate themselves from various situations. The film is saved by Zahn, funny as an idiot who thinks he's a smart PI and Dylan Baker as the real and merciless hit man. What frankly irks is Magaro's central character, so dumb and irritating that you just wish he'd go away. Some fun stuff here though, with a few clever plotting ideas making the who will prevail and who won't notion worth the wait to the climax where all is sorted one way or another.

1) LAROY, TEXAS doesn't look like a 2024 Holywood movie and i appreciated it. There are no "messages" here, script didn't obey to non-cinematic guidelines which have nothing to do with the Art of Cinema. This is an artistic creation, a real movie which told me a STORY. I can't take for granted even this nowadays, so i applaud the creators here just for this reason.

2) Unfortunately, it's flawed. First of all, its running time. If you want to create a 2 hours movie, you should make it interesting at least, from the beginning to the end. Especially when this is a dark comedy or comedy/drama/crime or something like this. This is not an Ingmar Bergman/Andrei Tarkovsky movie, this is a FARGO-esque. You will lose viewers' attention if you present them a 2 hours slow-paced movie which is kinda sad and miserable at times.

3) Having said that, overall this was not boring neither sad. There were many interesting moments, pace is getting better in the second half and Steve Zahn's presence made it more enjoyable. The last 40-50 minutes were much more enjoyable overall. Not the most convincing movie of the world, not everything made totally sense but i liked it. Unfortunately, it took too long for the movie to find its rhythm.

It's a well acted and well directed movie and i was this close to recommend it but i can't. Still, i cannot NOT recommend it either. Not a MUST WATCH, but enjoyable and watchable.

I am going to look forward for further up coming flicks either written or directed by Shane Atkinson.... This picture flew seamless. When I watch a movie - I often take breaks.... the breaks let me sink in fully and completely the past 20 or so minutes. For example "All The Presidents' Men" and intelligent pictures like those.

With Laroy, Texas I took breaks within each 30 minutes or so...... to let it sink in :) the characters were so natural - acting was splendid. The cinematography gave the feel of real place where it was shot. Until now.. this year - one of the best that I have seen. Give it a shot - it is worth its money.