Desperation Road, 2023.
Directed by Nadine Crocker.
Starring Garrett Hedlund, Willa Fitzgerald, Ryan Hurst, Woody McClain, Pyper Braun, Katy Bodenhamer, Paulina Gálvez and Mel Gibson.
SYNOPSIS:
After 11 years in a Mississippi state prison, Russell Gaines struggles to leave his past sins behind him as he returns home to his stoic father, Mitchell. One fateful night he meets Maben, a young mother with nothing but a stolen gun and a murdered police deputy to her name. Desperate and on the run, Russell and Maben must trust one another to escape their own circumstances, before the truths of their intertwined violent past threatens to destroy them…
Based on the 2017 award-nominated novel of the same name by author (and screenwriter) Michael Farris Smith, it’s clear Smith has taken great care in bringing the character development, conversation and relationships to the big screen. This is billed as an action thriller, but more a crime drama (emphasis on the drama). And to answer the big question and get it out of the way, screen veteran Mel Gibson appears for approximately 15 minutes. You may think he’s on the verge of pulling a Bruce Willis in terms of VOD lead roles appearing for minimal screentime but the difference is Gibson can act with a range of material, and here as a loving father, he adds real gravitas to the story and is the pull many audiences will come for. To be honest, it makes you want more from him, due to his role making lots of sense and somehow doesn’t feel wasted or there for the sake of it.
If you accept Gibson’s minimal screentime and come into this for a low-budget indie film, you’ll be okay. For such a low-budget indie film set in the deep South, this is surprisingly good. Kudos to actress-turned-director Nadine Crocker who brings the novel to life and has a real eye for engaging drama and character emotions. A striking opening 15mins gives confidence in the style of direction, the themes to be played out and the talent of our lead, Willa Fitzgerald. Playing single-mother Maben, Fitzgerald has her world turned upside down at the hands of abusive lawmen and ends up on the run with her daughter, the wonderful young talent Pyper Braun.
Her paths cross Christian Bale doppelganger Garrett Hedlund as Russell, he himself living with a conscious that can’t easily be cleared. Hedlund and Fitzgerald are great together. Russell and Maben share history, and they both want what’s best for their future, but deal with a lot of emotion along the way in order to get there. Crocker takes her time with Smith’s script to explore these two souls and their journeys; the obstacles they face, the dangers they encounter.
Co-starring Ryan Hurst as a grieving father with a vendetta, Woody McClain as Russell’s friend and a serving police officer, and Paulina Gálvez trying to hold a family together, all the characters here are written with care and portrayed equally well. This is a film about grief. About tragedy, regret and longing. Fractured souls brought together by fate, living with a weight on their shoulders from shadows in their past. Crocker explores what these emotions can do to people and to a society; actions are just actions to make them exciting here on screen, they bubble and burn from what they experience until it comes out in a raw, messy and brutal show of desperation to free themselves from the past.
Thanks to a very haunting and atmospheric score by Haim Mazar and cinematography by Sy Turnbull, many of the unknown crew help bring the South to life in a natural, beautiful and often suspenseful way to grip you into false sense of security when you just want things to go smoothly for our leads. There are no frills on show. While it’s not an action thriller, it’s better for it as a character-driven drama because the source material writes them very well to have you care. It’s certainly worth a watch, thanks for being a surprising adaptation that seems to care for the material it’s based on and looks great on screen with a talented cast and crew bringing it to life.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Chris Gelderd
Originally published February 12, 2024. Updated February 13, 2024.
