Directed by:
David Gordon GreenScreenplay:
Gary HawkinsCinematography:
Tim OrrCast:
Nicolas Cage, Tye Sheridan, Gary Poulter, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Adriene Mishler, Heather Kafka, John Daws, Aj Wilson McPhaul, Jonny Mars, Sue Rock (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
The film brings Academy Award® winner Nicolas Cage back to his indie roots in the title role as the hard-living, hot-tempered, ex-con Joe Ransom, who is just trying to dodge his instincts for trouble – until he meets a hard-luck kid (Tye Sheridan) who awakens in him a fierce and tender-hearted protector. The story begins as Joe hires teenaged Gary Jones and his destitute father onto his "tree- poisoning" crew for a lumber company. Joe might be notoriously reckless with his pick-up, his dog and especially with women, but he sees something in Gary that gets to him: a determination, a raw decency and a sense of resilience he can barely believe in anymore. Gary has truly had nothing in life – he's never spent a day at school – yet something drives him to take care of his family, to keep his sister safe when his father turns monstrous, to hang onto hope of a better future. Joe and Gary forge an unlikely bond. When Gary finds himself facing a threat greater than he knows how to handle, he turns to Joe – and sets off a chain of events that play out with the brutal inevitability of tragedy and the beauty of a last stab at salvation. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (3)
I have one big problem with this. Nicolas Cage, at his core a good-hearted and respected guy, is portrayed as a hunted victim of society who is happily trampled on by others for his every transgression, while Gary's father, an old drunk and the most physically and mentally repulsive creature of American redneck culture, goes largely unnoticed and he can beat the whole family without much objection. Maybe it's supposed to be a metaphor for how ugly and unfair life is, but it doesn't help the film with its established rules, the plot is unnecessarily stretched to wannabe existential heights, and the two aforementioned characters always end up behaving exactly as expected from the start. In terms of craftsmanship and especially the performances, everything is fine and the bleakness of the setting is reflected in a very oppressive and dirty atmosphere, but I can't shake the feeling that a lot of similar themes have passed through Hollywood and that Joe is slavishly describing most of them, however carefully and without major mistakes. Fine to watch on TV, but not at the cinema. 65%
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Somehow, I’m developing a weak spot for these crazy small town movies from the middle of America. Nicolas Cage plays a former convict in this movie, and although he is actually the only convict in the area, he is also the only normal and more or less healthy functioning person there. This can’t be said about those around him, except for the boy who clings to him, who does not belong there at all. They are all nuts. It almost looks as if the town was overflowing with blacks and white nutjobs. Anyway, I have to admit that I really enjoyed this dark drama. Nicolas Cage plays weird guys in weird movies. Sometimes he doesn’t succeed, other times I’m bowing down before him because even with his shooting speed there are still movies in which he manages to surprise.
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It's as if some creators decided to find peace in humanity by observing a group of people who are not doing well, living in a way that the majority of the middle class will not like, but in their ruthless lives, it is possible to find a certain direction to follow. It's strange and Cago liked it, but this film didn't resonate with me much.
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