Ford v Ferrari

 

Directed by James Mangold and written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller, Ford v Ferrari (Le Mans ’66) is the story of about a team of British and American engineers and designers who team up to help Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca to design the Ford GT40 in an upcoming race in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race against the much revered racing team led by Ferrari. The film is a dramatization of the events leading to the 1966 Le Mans race where an American designer asks a British driver to be part of this team as they also deal with various issues along the way. Starring Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Remo Girone, and Ray McKinnon. Ford v Ferrari is a gripping and exhilarating film from James Mangold.

Set in the early 1960s, the film revolves around Ford who found themselves struggling with low sales as well as losing the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France to the Italian car manufacturer Ferrari where Ford’s vice president Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) turns to a designer and a hot-headed British driver for help in the upcoming 1966 race. It’s a film that explores these two men who agree to help for the Ford motor company not only to try and defeat Ferrari but also prove what a car can do. The film’s screenplay takes place largely in the mid-1960s where sports car designer and racer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) who won Le Mans back in 1959 but is forced to retire due to his heart condition as he is approached by Iacocca to create a car that can compete against Ferrari who had been dominating Le Mans for years. Shelby agrees to help but wants to bring in the British driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) to the fold despite the fact that he is hot-tempered yet knows more about cars than anyone else.

The film also showcased why this rivalry between Ford and Ferrari has intensified where the film has Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) trying to figure out what to do with Iacocca being the one man who has an understand of what Americans want as Ford’s company tried to buy Ferrari (Remo Girone) who felt insulted by their deal as he ends up choosing to make a deal with Fiat that at least gives Ferrari more control on what he could and participate in Le Mans. With Ford reluctantly giving Shelby and Miles the chance to create a car for Ford, Miles does the job so he can help his family as they’re going through debt as his wife Mollie (Caitriona Balfe) and son Peter (Noah Jupe) are able to watch closely with the latter befriending Shelby and Shelby’s chief engineer Phil Remington (Ray McKinnon). The script also showcase the tension between Shelby and Miles though both are able to be on the same page with the latter focusing on improvements of the GT40 Mk II while the former tries to deal with Ford executive Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas) who despises both Shelby and Miles.

James Mangold’s direction does have elements of style as it play into the world of the 1960s though it begins with Shelby being a racer and being able to finish it despite his growing heart condition. Shot largely on location in California with additional locations in Georgia, Louisiana, and bits of Le Mans in France, Mangold does use these locations not just as race tracks but to showcase a world where the auto industry is going through changing times as it play into what consumers want as they want the cars that James Bond wants to drive. Mangold’s usage of wide and medium shots do play into these locations including the California race tracks and the places where Shelby runs his company. There are also close-ups that do play into the character interaction including a scene where Mollie is angry about her husband returning to racing as she is driving the car ferociously in a way that even scares Miles. It is a moment that does play into some of the humanistic moments in Miles’ life as he is someone that does care for his family but knows more about cars and how they should be driven better than anyone.

Mangold also uses a lot of point-of-view shots of what it’s like inside a car when it’s going fast to nearly 218 miles per hour as it was the highest speed at the time and what it took for that car to be intact. The film’s second act is about these tests for the GT40 as well as Shelby’s war with Beebe who wants to play it safe as it leads to a race in Daytona where Miles succeeds with the Mk II that leads to Le Mans for the film’s third act. The Le Mans race is intense where it’s not about what is going on at the track but also what is happening behind the scenes with Beebe trying to assert his authority and what both Ford and Ferrari are watching as Miles is part of a team representing Ford going against racers representing Ferrari. There is a lot of drama on and off the track where Mangold manages to maintain that air of suspense that plays into Miles’ skill as a driver who is willing to push the limits of what a race car can do. Overall, Mangold crafts a mesmerizing and riveting film about two outsiders who help Ford create the ultimate race car against the brilliance of Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of natural lighting for many of the daytime exteriors with some lighting schemes for scenes at night along with low-key interior lighting for some scenes at night. Editors Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland, and Dirk Westervelt do amazing work with the editing as its usage of jump-cuts and rhythmic cuts doesn’t just capture the frenetic energy of the races but also has this rhythm that play into the excitement and terror of those races while the editing is also straightforward for the non-racing scenes. Production designer Francois Audouy, with set decorator Peter Lando and supervising art director Maya Shimoguchi, does excellent work with the look of Shelby’s home base, the Ford factory, Miles’ home, and the race stand at Le Mans. Costume designer Daniel Orlandi does fantastic work with the costumes as it play into the looks of the time that include some of the clothes that Mollie wears and the suits that the men wear in those times.

Special effects supervisors Mark R. Byers and Charles-Axel Vollard, with visual effects supervisors Olivier Dumont and Kiruba Nanthan, do brilliant work with the way cars crash as well as scenes involving the races as well as some visual effects to play into some of the landscape that does a bit more than just do set-dressing. Sound designer David Giammarco and sound editor Donald Sylvester do phenomenal work with the sound as it play into the way a car sounds and how tires sound when it’s on the ground as it’s being driven as the attention to detail in the sound work as it is a major highlight of the film. The film's music by Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders do superb work with the film’s music with its mixture of orchestral bombast and low-key electronics to play up the thrill of Le Mans while music supervisor Ted Caplan provides a fun soundtrack consisting of music of the times from acts and artists like James Burton, the Kingsmen, the Sonics, Nina Simone, Lucky Blondo, Buck Owens, the Byrds, Link Wray, the Shadows of Knight, the Sparkles, Billy Riley and His Little Green Men, and Les Baxter.

The casting by Ronna Kress is wonderful as it features some notable small roles from Joe Williamson as a chief engineer for Ford in Donald N. Frey, Corrado Invernizzi as Ferrari’s right-hand man Franco Gozzi, Jack McMullen as the mechanic Charlie Agapiou, JJ Feild as the famed British engineer Roy Lunn who works for Ford yet helps Shelby and Miles with what cars can do, and Remo Girone as Enzo Ferrari as the famed Italian sports car maker who is intent on creating the perfect car while having issues with the ways Americans do business. Josh Lucas’ performance as Ford executive Leo Beebe is good as it allows Lucas to be the smarmy douchebag that hates Shelby and Miles because they don’t fit in with what Ford should be. Noah Jupe is superb as Miles’ son Peter as kid who enjoys seeing his father race as well as having an interest in cars as he does serve as a rock of sorts for his father but also understands some things that helps cars work where he befriends Shelby and Remington.

Ray McKinnon is fantastic as Shelby’s engineer Phil Remington as a man that knows cars but also understands what can work and what can’t work where he often finds a solution to a problem. Tracy Letts is excellent as Henry Ford II as the CEO of Ford and the grandson of Henry Ford as a man trying to find out how to get Americans to buy his cars but also deal with the fact that times are changing where he is eager to beat Ferrari at Le Mans. Jon Bernthal is brilliant as Lee Iacocca as the vice president of Ford who goes to Shelby for help as he understands what consumers want while trying to deal with the presence of Beebe whom he feels doesn’t understand change. Caitriona Balfe is amazing as Miles’ wife Mollie as a woman who understands her husband’s love and knowledge for cars though she isn’t happy about him returning to racing knowing he might do something dangerous as she does manage to hold her own.

Finally, there’s the duo of Christian Bale and Matt Damon in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby. Bale brings in that performance of a man who knows a lot about cars but is also hot-tempered and frustrated by people’s lack of respect for cars as he’s also an intense driver that is aware of what a car could do within its limitations. Damon is more reserved as a former racer who designs and sells sports cars as he is also aware of what needs to be done to beat Ford while having to deal with some of the business aspects including Beebe whom he despises. Bale and Damon together have this amazing rapport together as they not only showcase two men who have a love of cars but also know what it takes to win in the world in racing as they’re a big highlight of the film.

Ford v Ferrari is a tremendous film from James Mangold that features great leading performances from Christian Bale and Matt Damon. Along with its supporting cast, gorgeous visuals, incredible sound work, and exhilarating music score, the film is definitely a rapturous film that explores the world of racing and what a group of outsiders try to do to compete with Ferrari and help Ford become important again during the 1960s. In the end, Ford v Ferrari is a spectacular film from James Mangold.

James Mangold Films: (Heavy) – (Cop Land) – (Girl, Interrupted) - (Kate & Leopold) – (Identity (2003 film)) – (Walk the Line) – 3:10 to Yuma (2007 film) - (Knight and Day) – The Wolverine - Logan - (Indiana Jones 5)

© thevoid99 2021

Mud (2012 film)

Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, Mud is the story of two boys who meet a strange man living on a boat stuck on a tree as he is hiding from bounty hunters while hoping to return to his former flame. The film is an adventure in which two teenage boys meet up with this man as it’s set entirely in Arkansas where they try to help this man who is carrying some secrets of his own. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Michael Shannon, Joe Don Baker, Ray McKinnon, Sarah Paulson, and Sam Shepard. Mud is a riveting yet towering film from Jeff Nichols.

The film is a simple story of two teenage boys who meet a mysterious man in an island on the Arkansas River as he is living on a boat on top of a tree that the boys want. It’s a film that explores this complex relationship between this man who is on the run from authorities and bounty hunters while he befriends these two boys as he asks for their help in getting the boat down from the tree and fix it. Even as it is a film about men and young men where this man named Mud (Matthew McConaughey) is hoping to reunite with his old flame whom he went to jail for. While Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and his friend Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) help bring some supplies, Ellis encounters things in his own life that he’s unprepared for while understanding the fallacies of love.

Jeff Nichols’ screenplay is mostly about Ellis as he copes with not just his parents separating but also the idea of leaving the river home he’s spent much of his life. It’s really a coming-of-age tale for both Ellis and Neckbone as the two are becoming interested in women as Ellis would gain the attention of a high school girl in May Pearl (Bonnie Sturdivant) whom he has a crush on. Yet, their encounter with Mud would give them a chance to do something in the hopes that they could get the boat for themselves as the two also learn about Mud’s intentions as he waiting for his old flame in Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). Juniper is this woman who has a past with Mud as she learns through Ellis and Neckbone about Mud as she is also being watched by a bounty hunter whose brother was killed by Mud.

It adds to the drama as well as the severity of the situations where things do intensify on an emotional level in the third act as the warnings that Ellis is getting from neighbor in Tom Blankenship (Sam Shepard) starts to seep in. Even as revelations about what Mud did that got him in trouble start to emerge which plays into not just the fallacies of love but also how foolish men are when it comes to women. The script also goes into the idea of loyalty and doing what is right where even though Ellis and Neckbone would do things that are wrong so they can help Mud. They do start to question what they’re doing as well as why Mud hasn’t contacted Juniper himself though they know he’s a wanted man.

Nichols’ direction is very entrancing not just for the way he creates this film as this mixture of thriller with a coming of age drama. He also manages to make something that definitely feels like a very Southern film not just in its many locations in small towns in Arkansas but also in places near its river and the Mississippi River. While many of the compositions from close-ups to wide shots are very simple with some underwater shots and some unique camera angles. There is a sense of naturalism that Nichols is going for as he shoots a lot of places on locations where there is a beauty to the river and some of skylines while there’s also something that feels very grimy such as some of the aspects of nature.

The direction also has Nichols use suspense in some very effective ways as it pertains to the horde of bounty hunters that are going after Mud as well as the warnings that Blankenship has for Ellis about getting too close to Mud. There’s also some humor in the way it plays into the idea of love while much of it is dramatic as Nichols makes no bones that this is a film about men though he doesn’t portray women as selfish beings but rather those who are just complicated. It’s that idea that would spark much of the film’s more intense third act where it isn’t just about Mud facing his demons but also the consequences that Ellis would have that would shape him from boyhood to manhood. Overall, Nichols creates a very somber yet exhilarating film about two boys who help a man trying to get back to an old flame.

Cinematographer Adam Stone does brilliant work with the film‘s gorgeous cinematography from the look of the skylines to some of the nighttime exterior settings in the island as well as some interior scenes where the lighting plays into the dark mood of the film. Editor Julie Monroe does excellent work with the editing as it‘s very straightforward in terms of its rhythmic cuts as well as playing into the film‘s suspense. Production designer Richard A. Wright, with set decorator Fontaine Beauchamp Hebb and art director Elliott Glick, does fantastic work with the set pieces from the river house that Ellis and his family lived in to the design of the boat that he and Neckbone would find that Mud would live in.

Costume designer Kari Perkins does nice work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual from the white shirt that Mud wears to the clothes that Juniper wears. Sound designer Will Files does amazing work with the film‘s sound to convey for many of the film‘s locations in the rivers as well as some scenes in some of the social gatherings including a bar where Juniper goes to. The film’s music by David Wingo is superb for its mixture of folk music with eerie orchestral-like pieces to play into the world that is the American South that includes some country textures in the music while music supervisor Steve Lindsey maintains that world of the South with a lot of music ranging from country to rock as well as an inspired use of the Beach Boys‘ Help Me Rhonda.

The casting by Francine Maisler is phenomenal as it features some notable small roles from Kirsty Barrington as Neckbone’s uncle’s girlfriend, Bonnie Sturdivant as Ellis’ high-school crush May Pearl, Joe Don Baker as a notorious crime kingpin who wants Mud dead, Paul Sparks as the kingpin’s son who wants vengeance for his brother’s death, and Michael Shannon in a superb performance as Neckbone’s uncle Galen who provides some of the film’s funnier moments. Sarah Paulson and Ray McKinnon are excellent as Ellis’ parents with Paulson playing the mother who tries to talk to Ellis about why she’s leaving her father while McKinnon plays the father who feels like he let his son down. Sam Shepard is brilliant as Ted Blankenship as a former assassin who was a father-figure for Mud as a boy as he realizes why Mud has come back. Jacob Lofland is amazing as Neckbone as a teen who helps Ellis do things for Mud as he would prove to be a formidable ally as he also says some funny things.

Reese Witherspoon is fantastic as Juniper as Mud’s former girlfriend as she learns about Mud returning as she is this very complex person who loves Mud but is also a very flawed woman who plays into the idea of love’s fallacy. Tye Sheridan is incredible as Ellis as this 14-year old boy who befriends Mud as he deals with helping Mud as well as growing up and experience first-love. Finally, there’s Matthew McConaughey in a tremendous performance as the titular character as this man who is on the run as he is eager to return to his old flame as he also proves to be someone that knows a lot about love while being unaware of the same mistakes he’s making.

Mud is a spectacular film from Jeff Nichols that features a mesmerizing leading performance from Matthew McConaughey as the titular character. Along with a great supporting cast that includes Tye Sheridan, Reese Witherspoon, Jacob Lofland, and Sam Shepard. It’s a film that manages to be a lot of things such as a coming-of-age story and a suspense thriller while having so many things to say. In the end, Mud is an outstanding film from Jeff Nichols.

Jeff Nichols Films: Shotgun Stories - Take Shelter - Midnight Special - Loving (2016 film) - The Auteurs #58: Jeff Nichols

© thevoid99 2014

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 9/14/08 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a loose re-telling of Homer's The Odyssey set during the Great Depression in Mississippi where three dim-witted convicts try to find lost treasure as they get into strange encounters with a trio of sirens, a KKK member, and other places while becoming hit musicians in the process. With an all-star cast that includes Coen Brother regulars Holly Hunter, Charles Durning, Michael Badalucco, John Goodman, and John Turturro along with two future regulars in George Clooney and Stephen Root. Also starring Tim Blake Nelson, Ray McKinnon, Chris Thomas King, Lee Weaver, Wayne Duvall, and Daniel von Bargen. O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a whimsical musical-comedy from the Coen Brothers.

Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney), Pete Hogwallop (John Tuturro), and Delmar O'Donnell (Tim Blake Nelson) have just escaped the chain gang as they go on the run where they meet a blind seer (Lee Weaver) who would reveal their destiny as they seek lost treasure in a soon-to-be flooded valley. With only four days to find it, the men stop at the farm of Pete's cousin Wash where they're betrayed to the authorities led by Sheriff Cooley (Daniel von Bargen). Thanks to Wash's son, they escape as they later encounter a baptism and meet a young black musician named Tommy (Chris Thomas King) who claims to have sold his soul to the devil to become great. In need of money, the three convicts and Tommy stop at a radio station owned by the blind Mr. Lund (Stephen Root) who records their song Man of Constant Sorrow as they become the Soggy Bottom Boys and with a hit song.

Evading Cooley, Ulysses, Pete, and Delmar encounter bank robber George "Baby Face" Nelson (Michael Badalucco) at a robbery as they help Nelson find salvation while gaining his robbery money in return. The journey gets stranger as they trio encounters a trio of beautiful sirens where Ulysses and Delmar awaken from their encounter with Pete missing as Delmar is convinced he's become a toad. A meeting with a one-eyed Bible salesman named Big Dan Teague (John Goodman) turns bad as Ulysses learns about an upcoming election between governor Pappy O'Daniel (Charles Durning) against reform candidate Homer Stokes (Wayne Duvall). Arriving at town, Ulysses also learns that his wife Penny (Holly Hunter) has divorced him and is engaged to Stokes' campaign manager Vernon T. Waltrip (Ray McKinnon) whom he tries to fight against. Learning that Pete is alive and captured by the authorities, Ulysses and Delmar bust him out as they fight about the whereabouts of the treasure.

Running into a Ku Klux Klan meeting where Tommy is about to be hanged, they discover who the leader is as well who is associated with the Klan. After saving Tommy, Ulysses decides to make a chance to win back Penny as he, Pete, Delmar, and Tommy disguise themselves as the Soggy Bottom Boys. Playing their hit song and winning over Governor O'Daniel, the outlook for the men is great as they get closer to the treasure where they would encounter Cooley leading to a fateful intervention for all involved.

What makes this film a unique adaptation isn't its setting but how the Coen Brothers manage to put a lot of references in relation to Homer's epic tale. At the same time, the Coen Brothers create a story that audiences who know of Homer's story can follow through as it's one of their most accessible and entertaining features. The script is filled with stylized dialogue that is in relation to the times as is the music that is an important part of the film. The music helps tell the story and setting as it's all enriched in the roots of American music.

The direction of the Coen Brothers is truly unique as Joel and Ethan Coen create a vision and compositions that are unique to the story. While a lot of the humor is based on slapstick, it's timing and take on simpletons aren't insulting but rather props as it's clear that the Coen Brothers aren't really making fun of them. Yet, put these not-so-bright men in situations and see how it will unfold. Yet, their presentation of each scene and situation is done with such style and energy. It's clear that the Coen Brothers are creating a vision that is true with the times as if it was a time machine while adding a sense of humor and style in the mix. The result is the Coen Brothers being at their finest.

The Coen Brothers' longtime cinematographer Roger Deakins creates superb work to the film and its compositions. With its use of yellowish, sepia-awash colors to create a dream-like style to some of the film's exterior settings. Deakins' emphasis on a depth of field is gorgeous to watch as his daytime exterior work is gorgeous while in the nighttime, there are shades of blues and other colors that are rich. Deakins' work is definitely amazing and true to the style of the Coen Brothers. The Coen Brothers in their Roderick Jaynes alias along with Ethan Coen's wife Tricia Cooke do great work in the film's editing. The rhythmic pacing works with its leisurely with its sense of style with jump-cuts, wipes, and other transitional cuts in dissolves show the Jaynes and Cooke's unique approach to the editing. Especially when it comes from composition to another that moves with such ease.

Longtime production designer Dennis Gassner with set decorator Nancy Haigh and art director Richard L. Johnson create amazing period sets with its decaying farms, landscapes, and other locations. Notably in the scenes that included old props like 1930s microphones and other 1930s objects as Gassner and his team do superb job. Costume designer Mary Zophres, another regular Coen Brothers collaborator, does an amazing job with the film's period costumes that is in tune with Deakins' cinematography of light colors and dresses that Holly Hunter wears to the suits that most of the actors with the exception of its main actors. Visual effects supervisor Erik Nash creates some great visual work in some of the film's visual effects scene that includes a river and a train scene. Longtime Coen Brothers sound editor Skip Lievsay along with sound designer Eugene Gearty do great work in the film's sound to capture the atmosphere of the times as well as the action and hijinks that goes on.

Longtime collaborator Carter Burwell contributes minor music pieces to the film as much of the film's score and soundtrack is supervised by T-Bone Burnett. The film's soundtrack is rich with roots-based American music like bluegrass and country with contributions from artists like James Carter, Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, and Harry McClintock. The album is one of those few Grammy-award winning albums that deserve its prize as it's filled with a lot of rich music and songs that are memorable that is true to Americana.

The casting by Ellen Chenoweth is superb with small but memorable performances from Georgia Rae Rainer, Marianna Breland, Lindsey Miller, and Natalie Shedd as Ulysses' daughters, Frank Hollison as Wash Hogswollop, Quinn Gasaway as Wash's son, Gillian Welch as a record buyer, and as the sirens, Christy Taylor, Musetta Vander, and Mia Tate. J. R. Horne and Brian Reddy are great as Pappy O' Daniel's campaign managers who aren't very bright while Del Pentecost is also funny as Pappy's dim-witted son. Ed Gale is great as Homer Stokes' little man who is voiced by Jennifer Jason Leigh. Lee Weaver is great as the blind seer who represents the character of Tiseras, the blind seer in The Odyssey. Stephen Root is excellent as the blind radio station manager Mr. Lund with his comments on the Soggy Bottom Boys while Michael Badalucco is also excellent as George Nelson, a manic-depressive bank robber.

Ray McKinnon is good as Vernon T. Waltrip, a man who threatens Ulysses' role as the pater familias while having some funny moments in his fight scene with Clooney. Wayne Duvall is great as reform candidate Homer Stokes who is very comical and carries a great presence while revealing a dark side into his character. Daniel von Bargen is brilliant as Sheriff Cooley, a man with dark sunglasses and a hound dog that proves to be very menacing as he carries a huge presence. Chris Thomas King, a real-life musician who also contributes to the soundtrack, is great as Tommy whose character is based on blues legend Robert Johnson. Charles Durning is amazing as Pappy O'Daniel with his crusty, frustrated attitude while in the Soggy Bottom Boys performance scene, he lets loose as the famed actor has some great scene-stealing moments. John Goodman is great in his usual role for the Coen Brothers as a Bible-selling, mugging man who is very vicious while his character is based on Cyclops from The Odyssey. Holly Hunter is excellent as Penny, a character based on Penelope of The Odyssey, as a woman disappointed in Ulysses and is trying to raise her family as Hunter is funny in her role.

Tim Blake Nelson is brilliant as the dim-witted yet simple-minded Delmar O'Donnell as he's the less intelligent of the three convicts. Nelson's performance is filled with lots of innocence and charm as Nelson provides a great balance between Clooney and Turturro. John Turturro is brilliant as Pete, a brutish man with dreams to run his own restaurant as he's the guy often arguing with Ulysses as Turturro brings a wonderful, funny performance to his character. Finally, there's George Clooney is a hilarious role as Ulysses. A man with lots of ideals and comments while demanding that he needs Dapper Dan hair gel as Clooney provides great comedic time and commentary as it's one of the actor's finest performances.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a wonderfully funny, entertaining, and gorgeous musical-comedy from the Coen Brothers. With a great cast, great look, and an amazing soundtrack, it's one of the Coen Brothers finest and most accessible films to date. Fans of the filmmaking duo will no doubt see this as one of their finest work. While it may not reach the hilarity heights of films like Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski, the film does stand out on its own while it's famed soundtrack is one of the decade's finest. In the end, for a good time with American roots music, Dapper Dan hair gel, and telling people that you're the pater familias, you're goddamned bona fide! O Brother, Where Art Thou? is the film to go see that's worth watching over and over again.

Coen Brothers Films: Blood Simple - Raising Arizona - Miller's Crossing - Barton Fink - The Hudsucker Proxy - Fargo - The Big Lebowski - The Man Who Wasn't There - Intolerable Cruelty - The Ladykillers (2004 film) - Paris Je T'aime-Tuileries - To Each His Own Cinema-World Cinema - No Country for Old Men - Burn After Reading - A Serious Man - True Grit (2010 film) - Inside Llewyn Davis - Hail, Caesar! - The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The Auteurs #9: The Coen Brothers Pt. 1 - The Auteurs #9: The Coen Brothers Pt. 2

(C) thevoid99 2012

The Badge (2002 film)

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 11/9/03 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

The Badge is a crime drama about a divorced sheriff who investigates a murder of a transsexual prostitute who has some strange connection to the upcoming governor elections in Louisiana. Along the way, he finds himself at odds with a friend of the prostitute, his ex-wife, and authorities as he loses his badge and tries to do the right thing and uncover the truth. Written and directed by Robby Henson, The Badge is a decent crime film despite its slow pacing and unoriginal storylines. Still, with a cast led by Billy Bob Thornton, Patricia Arquette, William Devane, Sela Ward, Tom Bower, Hill Harper, Julie Hagerty, Thomas Haden Church, and Jena Malone, it’s still a very mediocre crime film.

After finding the body of a transsexual prostitute named Mona (Cindy Roubal), a local sheriff in Darl Hardwick (Billy Bob Thornton) investigates what happened as he as various locals including church leader Sister Felica (Julie Hagerty) and his deputy C.B. (Ray McKinnon) about the body. While continuing work, Darl's personal life is in shambles as he's already divorced from his district attorney wife Carla (Sela Ward) while barely having a relationship with his teenage-Goth daughter Ashley (Jena Malone). Carla wants to have higher authorities to handle the case while Darl manages to get the approval of a local judge (William Devane) to continue the investigation. Darl then meets a woman from New Orleans named Scarlett (Patricia Arquette), who is revealed to be Mona's wife. A conversation with the two is interrupted by Darl's father Bull (Tom Bower) who remains despondent over the loss of his badge as Darl wonders about the secret his father is hiding.

Scarlett decides to help Darl with the investigation as he believes something is wrong as he's convinced as it's to do with the upcoming governor election that the judge is running for against current governor Joe Breraton (Michael Arata) whom Carla is dating. Darl crashes the party the governor is having as his suspicions is raised as he asks for Carla's help who refuses to help him. With news of a new casino arriving that Sister Felicia has been protesting against, Darl gets in trouble as he's forced to give up his badge and to stay in his local parish so he can stop the investigation. After learning from his dad what is going on, Darl risks his probation to help Scarlett as they meet her friends David (Thomas Haden Church) and Gizmo (Hill Harper) as they all learn that Mona's death was all part of a conspiracy involving corruption within the government.

What makes The Badge frustrating is Robby Henson’s approach to try to make a crime drama fresh but in the process, finds itself messy in one too many subplots involved. The revealed murderer isn’t just a disappointment but the story as a whole is a mess since there’s no real background to the murder or the corruption other than the fact that these candidates wanted power. Henson’s direction is mediocre at best despite the fact he can shoot some excellent dramatic scenes that get overshadowed by its plot. The problem with the film is a lack of a narrative structure, which makes the whole film uninteresting due to its slow pacing.

On the performance front, Billy Bob Thornton is excellent as Darl as he brings out a man who is trying to do the right thing while trying to fix whatever mess in his life. Patricia Arquette is brilliant as well, since she not only plays an excellent stripper, but someone smart and demanding and she brings in some great chemistry with Thornton. William Devane is fun and sly as the villainous judge although at first, he doesn’t seem bad towards the middle of the film. As for the rest of the cast, well despite their excellent performances, it’s overall a total waste. Sela Ward is only in a few scenes in the film, often arguing with Thornton while Jena Malone is excellent as a Goth teen though her screen time throughout the film is a disappointing ten minutes. Thomas Haden Church, Hill Harper, Tom Bower, and Julie Hagerty are all underused in their roles and are just wasted throughout the entire film. In the end, The Badge is a disappointing crime drama despite a great but underused cast.

(C) thevoid99 2011