Bad Turn Worse

"We gotta get out of this place" ... that's the title I saw this movie with at a Festival. It's a nice little thriller, where the inciting incident can be smelled a mile away (at least). If you can get over that bump, you are in for a nice little ride. It has a few nice twists and turns along the way.

The acting is good enough and the movie has a nice pace. Are there flaws/clichés along the way? Yes there are, but like with the initial bump, they can be overlooked to a certain extent. Relationships are almost drawn and are heading to an obvious (from the start) direction. But if it's done right ... like here, you can forgive the movie. If you do, is up to you

I saw this film at the Toronto Film Festival and it was without question, the finest film there. I hope this film gets wide theatrical release! For first time directors the Hawkins Brothers have produced a very tight film that treats the viewer with respect. The cinematography is stunning, particularly given that the film is shot in a rather bleak part of Texas. The film was intense from start to finish. Mark Pellegrino has taken the world of bad guys to a new level. He's a local for sure, but was an original. Quite frankly, all of this cast was top rate. While there are three relatively new actors involved, I expect that we shall be seeing them all down the road - and I would certainly include the directors in this statement, as well. If you get the chance, see this gem.

I seldom write reviews - especially about forgettable films, but I can't understand why every prior review for this film is either so adulating or lambasting. I thought the film wasn't that bad, but it's not all that great either.

It's not a nonstop adventure like "30 Minutes or Less." Its pacing is more like that of "Near Dark" or "A Simple Plan." And the pacing very fits well with the story and its setting.

The script was pretty well-thought out and well-written, if not exactly moving or memorable. The direction and cinematography were excellent. They used the flat, bland, decaying Texas coastal plains marvelously - kind of like John Ford used to use the American west. When the film is over, you may forget the characters, but you'll remember the scenery.

Mark Pellegrino has fun with his role as a charming and self-wise sociopath. William Devane makes the most of his minute on camera.

Mackenzie Davis affects more of a middle Tennessee accent than a south Texas accent but at least she tried. Logan Huffman sounds just like Bruno Kirby and somebody apparently thought he would be more believable as a Texan if he simply called everybody "Hoss" or "Podner." I doubt that annoys anybody outside of Texas (I see most of this movies rave reviews came from Canada, Scotland and Ireland) but sure annoys the hell out of people who know better.

But my biggest complaint, however, is that I haven't heard so many racial insults since "Django." Again, maybe this is the stereotypical Texas that people elsewhere want to imagine, but people in south Texas haven't spoken like that since the '40s or '50s. There's so much intermingling of ethnicities in that area that to think or speak like that would offend the overwhelming majority of ones' family and friends.

Now granted, fictional stories deserve a wide latitude for artistic license, and people involved in nefarious activities can be offensive and without conscience. But so much of the characterization was simply cartoonish and ultimately I think that undermined the film.

B.J. (Logan Huffman), his book-loving girlfriend Sue (Mackenzie Davis) and best friend Bobby (Jeremy Allen White) live in a small Texas town. Sue and Bobby are looking to leave for college. B.J. is acting up. He's jealous of them leaving and angry at their unspoken sexual chemistry. He had stolen money from their local criminal boss Giff (Mark Pellegrino). Giff starts beating on the Mexican guard and Bobby falsely confesses to the theft. Giff kills the guard anyways. Bobby is shocked that it turns out to be $20k from Big Red (William Devane) and Giff wants Bobby to repay it. Giff tells them to rob Big Red.

I like the young threesome. I'm a big fan of Jeremy Allen White in Shameless. Mackenzie Davis has a powerful energy about her. Logan Huffman grows on me with his creepiness. I do wonder why either of them likes B.J. but that's not out of the question in a small town. My first problem is Bobby's false confession. Bobby is not an idiot. He knows it's at a minimum $2000 and he couldn't pay that back himself. At first, I thought he was related to Giff and therefore not afraid of being killed by him. It simply doesn't make any sense other than the need to advance the plot. It could have been done in a different way. The Mexican could have falsely fingered Bobby before being killed. B.J. could have double-crossed Bobby. I don't buy Bobby volunteering to take the fall. I still like the threesome and I love the pulpy hard-boiled noirish style but it's hard for me to overcome the misstep.

Three Texas teens hope to make a break for it and escape their dead-end existence in a cotton-mill town but get sucked into the seedy underbelly of organized crime when one of them steals from the wrong man.

The general plot of this is pretty good, and fans of crime or heist movies will probably dig it. There is a really cool scene with the heist run-through that really makes the film for me, and if nothing else, solidified this as a better-than-average movie.

What are we to make of the "32 ways to tell a story" theme? Is that a hint of how we should interpret this plot? It seems like yes, but exactly what we are to take away from it remains unclear. Perhaps a second viewing is in order?