LaRoy, Texas
Ray, a thinks he is happily married, working at his family business with his ‘well to do’ big brother Junior – who seemingly has it all (the big house and a new boat). However he and his wife struggle financially, and she is desperate to start her own salon – having only ever accomplished being prom queen.
One night, he is mistaken for a contract killer – and seeing dollar signs to help his wife get her dream job, decides to consider taking the contract. When he accidentally kills the ‘mark’ it sets a chain of events in regards to $250k that the dead man had on him, and the emergence of the actual hit man – who wants the money.
Direction
This is writer/director Shane Atkinson’s first feature film, and given what I will write about soon, it is quite a lovely looking film – with lots of colours at times, and a warmer colour palet to accommodate the New Mexico landscape.
Cast/Characters
John Magaro plays the main character of Ray, who is hapless in love with his wife Stacy-Lynn. I found his character quite difficult to believe exists as he is disrespected by everyone in his life (wife, brother, employees). Nothing about him felt genuine, and his arc in the long run is quite disappointing.
Steve Zahn plays a private detective named Skip, who helps Ray with finding the $250k. He too is written rather bizarrely – as I found at times he was confident and seemed genuinely good at his job but at others he is just as incompetent as Ray.
Dylan Baker steals the show as Harry, the hit-man who is after the $250k. He plays menacing well, and he is the shining star in a bleak project.
I found a few cast to be a bit out of their element here, with Magaro struggling with being a leading man – however I think it is due to a poor screenplay. I almost thought that Zahn’s character should have been played by Woody Harrelson, and perhaps it was written with him in mind?
Screenplay/Setting/Themes
A bit of a misfire sadly, with a few inconsistencies that don’t really make sense in the grand scheme of things.
The film begins with Ray discovering his wife ‘might be cheating’ – so decides to ‘un-alive’ himself – which is where he meets the person who hires him to take out the mark – but from there on out he is adamant that his wife is not cheating… until he does.
The screenplay also has a Coen Brothers or Martin McDonaugh like feel to it – but it is a poor imitation. Even some of the dialogue feels completely inorganic – such as the relationship and dialogue between Ray and his older brother Junior.
At almost two hours, we discover more twists and bends than a pretzel factory, with who is playing who in regards to the $250k.
The final act also changes the way we see one particular character, and this seemed completely out of character. It all leads to quite possibly one of the worst film endings I’ve seen for a while.
Score/Soundtrack
I quite liked the score, and it gave me Carter Burwell vibes.
Overall
Sadly I didn’t really come away from this one with much positive to say. With only a small glimmer in the casting department going right, the whole plot is clunkily written.
Nice colours and a nice score don’t give this more than what Ive given. I wouldn’t recommend this.
2/5