Bullitt County

A tale of fabled buried treasure circa the 1970s, friends swing shovels together in an effort to unearth it. The upshot? So often times, too often, the threat doesn't come from forces external. It manifests when those familiar turn on themselves.

One thing I'll say from the offset, this movie touted itself as being about bourbon. I thought to myself, cool, I like bourbon, I'll check it out. It is not about bourbon. It's about bourbon the way Jurassic Park is about lawyers. Also, it's not really a thriller, not entirely at least. Much like pancakes are just dessert disguised as breakfast, this is more of a dramatic comedy strutting around in lavish thriller plumage.

None of this is to say it's a bad movie - quite the opposite. Although it's a grim genre tale, there's a lot of heart, a lot of laughs, a few tears, plenty of blood spilt, and...a musical number? For myself, I liked not knowing too much going in, as there are plenty of surprises, some you don't see coming, others you do (but those are just as satisfying). I was a bit rattled by the abrupt and abrasive tonal change halfway through, but after a second viewing, I can dig it. Bullitt County is more like a fine wine than a bourbon, just need to let it aerate a bit and then the flavors really explode.

Are the characters entirely logical, making sound decisions like normal human beings? Eh, they stretch the limits of what's believable (or likable in many instances), but hey, that's what makes genre flicks so fun, and Bullitt County in particular. Everything feels larger than life, and I mean that in the best possible way. From the stylistic choices in cinematography and editing to the portrayal of each of the main characters (or all the characters for that matter), this is a bombastic assault on the senses. Even the music and sound editing make some ballsy in-your-face choices, teetering on taking it too far in some instances, but always keeping within the parameters of the overall film, unorthodox though they may be. As unhinged as it gets, nothing ever feels out of place.

Don't expect everything about this flick to be served on a silver platter, either. There's a lot buried under the surface to grapple with long after the credits roll, especially if you've had any sort of brush with alcoholism in your life. Definitely wasn't expecting a little backwoods indie to take such a bold plunge into an issue like that. It's a wild ride, infused with plenty of the 70's to feel nostalgic but not get distracting, and while I've never been to the real Bullitt County, I'd absolutely get lost in this film again.

I feel I should first tell potential viewers of this independent film that despite its title, and the Netflix description promising this to be a hard-hitting and action-filled exercise, the movie actually has very limited action or suspense. There's nothing wrong with a movie being that way, as long as it's well made enough, but unfortunately this movie really misses the mark. It's a really slow exercise, for one thing - it takes about 40% of the movie before the characters truly find themselves in big trouble. Up to that point - and for much of the remaining running time after that point - the movie is jam-packed with characters spouting endless pretentious dialogue that sounds nothing like what people would say, even in the movie's 1970s setting. (And there seems to be no reason why the movie was set in the 1970s, by the way.) Towards the end (after there have been several points where linking footage seems to be missing, by the way), there are a couple of twists in the plot, but I was able to predict both of those twists long before they actually unfolded. The movie is well photographed, and there is some amusement with one of the key actors looking remarkably like Art Garfunkel, but otherwise, most viewers will want to put a "bullitt" in the head of the writer/director long before the end credits start rolling.

I was really impressed the attention to detail in different parts of the movie. I missed a little foreshadowing related to the ending, but did pick up some subtle clues. The ending was surprising but moved a little too fast and felt rushed. At the end I definitely felt like I wanted to watch it again to piece everything together and catch the clues. As a still emerging producer/director team, I thought they did a fantastic job. Overall I was entertained and it had me thinking!

It's a stretch to call this a thriller, but it certainly grips you a little. The movie starts slow, and I mean real sloooow. I was tempted to turn it off a few times in the first 30 minutes. You have a bunch of juvenile-acting hipsters who seem to be goofing around and wasting everybody's time, but you then get the feeling that they have a dark secret hovering over them, which is when things start getting interesting.

The action kind of picks up when they start searching for a treasure which is legend in those parts. Once we reach the psychological part of the movie, that's when the film starts messing with you and you start realizing what you may have missed the entire movie even though it was right in front of you the whole time (starting from the very first scene).

I would recommend checking out this movie, but do not expect a masterpiece. It can be better made, and the suspense scenes can be directed better. The acting is not too bad and the plot is first-class.