Greetings again from the darkness. As one who readily admits to watching too many movies each year, I always welcome the unanticipated joy in being pleasantly surprised by one that exceeds expectations. Doing just that is the first feature film from writer-director Nicholas Maggio and co-writer Rob Healy - a neo-noir thriller that takes place in a small rural community down south.
Now you might initially cringe (I did) at the thought of John Travolta carrying a big gun and wearing a cowboy hat as slow-talking Sheriff Bodie Davis in this small town, but I'm happy to report he never overplays his hand and delivers a truly respectable performance. However, despite the poster, his marquee name, and the gravitas he carries, Travolta is not the main focus here. Instead, Shiloh Fernandez plays Shelby Conners, a greasy-haired, drag racing, local truck driver and mechanic who shares a daughter with his town beauty wife, Caroline (Ashley Benson). The family is struggling to make ends meet in this town where drug overdoses barely raise an eyebrow.
Caroline's brother and Shelby's friend, Trey (Kevin Dillon), drags Shelby into a get-rich-quick scheme derived from desperate times. A local clinic is the front for a drug-dealer, which means piles of cash on hand, with not enough security. Shelby reluctantly agrees and, of course, things go sideways. Only it gets much worse when Clayton Minor (Stephen Dorff) shows up and informs the boys that they ripped off the New Orleans mafia, and as the fixer/enforcer, he's there to set things right.
Many times we have seen local boys looking for an easy score. Rarely are the scores easy, and never are they without consequences. Trey doesn't last long, but a strange connection occurs between Shelby and Clayton. Now he's been doing this for a while and he's very good at his job, but Clayton is struck by Shelby's sincerity. Empathy may be a stretch, but he's at least paying attention to the humanity of the situation, despite threatening Shelby's wife and daughter. It does present an unfamiliar dilemma for Clayton, serving as the crux of the story.
As you know, in small movie towns, everyone knows everyone else, so smooth-talking Clayton in his shiny black Caddy stands out like the proverbial sore thumb. Sheriff Brodie is suspicious and cautious and worried about his nephew Shelby, but there's not much he can do to keep up with the gangster. Travolta and Dorff have a couple of nice scenes together, and the film's opening sequences establish the contrast between their characters.
But it's Shelby and Clayton who spend the bulk of the film together. Dorff has most of the best lines, and Fernandez holds his own. Mr. Dorff has always been a personal favorite, and I've often wished he was cast in better movies. Mr. Fernandez was once considered a rising star, and seems to have settled into his acting career just fine (sans spotlight).
Devlin McCluskey sings a terrific and unusual version of "House of the Rising Sun" during the film, and Jason Dodson (the Maldives) plays a wonderful song over the credits, and both songs fit with the look and feel and tone and style of the film ... something that doesn't always happen. There is nothing about the film that gives the impression of 'first time director', so we will sit anxiously awaiting the next one from Nicholas Maggio. In the meantime, hopefully someone will give Stephen Dorff another perfect role.
Opens August 4, 2023.
