The Frontier

Whos says 1970s maxi skirts, wrinkly pantyhose and unkempt, brown hair can't be sexy! Jocelyn Donahue, as Laine definitely pulls off a convincing performance of a sweet girl in a dangerously wrong situation, who wriggles through perilous scrapes with the innocence of a lamb, though, as we soon find she is neither of the two. Though "The Frontier" has the appearance of a 70s TV Movie, with suitable, "barn-find" automobiles and even more antiquated TV sets(!) the action keeps one guessing (admittedly unsubtle), and the script never fails to spring surprises, right to the end. The medium budget drama has both the aura of a road movie and a Western, but in this Western you tend to have just the Bad and the Ugly. In this respect "The Frontier" reminded me of "The Hateful Eight" (2015). Both movies tend also to be pretty liberal in the mistreatment of women, but in taking sexual equality at face value all's fair in love and Hollywood. I think it is more a movie for the guys, thanks to the presence of Laine, doubtless prissily pretty, never showing too much to prove it. The character of Flyn the Englishman was pretty weak, thanks to his difficulty in mastering the tongue, but if you remember only the goofs of a movie it tends to be a "baddun" - right?. "The Frontier", thankfully does have one or two saving graces, e.g. that pass-the-parcel swag- bag of dollars, the ruthless internecine bumping off of adversaries and that all so understandable corruptibility of humans.

Oren Shai's The Frontier is a slick Americana genre throwback, that truly makes me pine for the good ole days.

I was lucky enough to catch this film at SXSW, and it was glorious to watch on the big screen. Shot on gorgeous Super 16mm with wardrobe and production design that leap off the screen like a pulp novel come to life.

Laine arrives at The Frontier motel on the run from her problems, and she encounters a cast of characters with their own secrets to hide.

Jocelin Donahue is superb as Laine, the girl on the run who uses her wits to stay one step ahead of everyone. This is truly a demanding role that she excels in, as she's on-screen for virtually the entire film. If this were a pulp book, I'd gladly read the next 10-20 episodes of her story.

If I watched this in a drive in I'd have a hard time not thinking that I've gone back in time to 1974. So forget whatever tentpole blockbuster schlock that you're going to pay exorbitant prices to see at the local megaplex. Instead, let's turn the dial back and settle in to watch interesting people, behaving badly.

I just finished watching this, I gave it a 7 due to the great way they filmed this, you swear it's a film made and set in the 70's, the grainy look, the set, the music, everything even down to the 70's kinda storyline, cars and clothing, extremely well done, even at the end the music score sounds if it's from the 70's.

Nothing new as yeah everything has been sort of done, but the cast is solid, simple but effective story line, but a rare sort of film that fools you thinking its years old.

7 out of 10

And here is some text so IMDb will publish my short review.

With its stylish cinematography and labyrinthine plot The Frontier is up there as one of the best of the bygone era of intentionally slow paced, suspenseful, well crafted film making. If you miss the films of yesteryear, the ones that had grit, character and an aesthetic sensibility, then you are going to want to see The Frontier. This film has all of that and then some.

Director Oren Shai takes you in to a dreamy, shadowy world that looks a lot like the covers of the hard-boiled pulp novels of the 50's and 60's. Every shot is gorgeously cinematic and my favorite thing about this movie is how much space Shai gives the viewer just to observe and revel in moments between the dialogue. The story is told as much through a frame on a characters face with a certain look in their eye, or a shot of landscape that portrays the remote emptiness they are surrounded by, as it is by its clever sharp-tongued dialogue. A haunting score adds to the richness of the visuals as well.

I won't give too much away about the plot, but the story centers around Laine (exquisitely played by Jocelin Donahue) who we don't know much about except that she's a girl on the run. Where she came from or where she's going nobody knows. All we know is that she stumbles upon a kooky set of misfit thieves, awaiting their loot in a dusty motel in the desert, and she seems to be trying to escape danger but has landed in to something that could be far worse. But the heroine is up to tricks of her own and soon we can't tell if she's the one in trouble or the one making it. The plot that starts off steady and cool, quickly becomes a roller coaster ride of twisty turns, girls with guns, double crossing, triple crossing and good guys gone bad, bad guys gone even worse. It's great fun to watch and just when you think you know what's happening, you're on to another jaw-dropping scenario.

All in all, it's very entertaining but also a great piece art. I'm very happy to have discovered this hidden gem and I highly recommend!

A gritty American Southwest flick, The Frontier manages to capture a western outlaw atmosphere in a rustic wind blown environment.

A pretty, mysterious girl named Laine driving across the Arizona desert becomes temporarily employed at a diner to make up for food & lodging. The residents and customers therein are a motley lot, each with their own disturbing secrets, and each sharing a collective one as well. There's Eddie the rebel {a brash leather-clad young man reminiscent of Jim Stark/James Dean}; couple Gloria & Flynn are a British gentleman & a Jayne Mansfield-type girlfriend; Luanne, an eccentric former showgirl {diner owner, glamorous yet quite neurotic}; Lee is a stony bearded professor-like gentleman; & Officer Gault comes and goes, reminding one of a William Shatner character*, who takes a shine to Laine, especially evident in the end. Incidentally, despite a very close call with The Reaper, Laine merges with the unlikely crew of malfeasants awaiting their ill- gotten reward, utilizing venomous trickery to gain her own deadly remuneration.

With various unexpected twists and turns, the dangerous path throughout The Frontier leads to surprise lethal treasures awaiting those with a ruthlessly lawless disposition, where few survive. ∞

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* i.e., Mark Preston of The Devil's Rain, Rack Hansen of Kingdom of The Spiders.