Rebel Ridge

 

Aaron Pierre

I came away a lot less excited about Jeremy Saulnier's Rebel Ridge than most. Aaron Pierre plays Terry, an ex-Marine driving his ten speed alone through Louisiana (!), with $30,000 in bail money (!) to spring a cousin from jail. The corrupt local cops pull him over, throw him in the hoosegow on trumped up charges, and confiscate his loot. Terry spends the rest of the film trying to reclaim his money and spring his cousin. His only help comes from a courthouse clerk played by AnnaSophia Robb. Snooping by the two triggers a showdown with the Sheriff (Don Johnson) after a wearying series of subterfuges and double crosses. Terry, a martial arts expert, tries to avoid killing the police officers hunting him, so we get the crunch of bone instead of the splatter of brain. Progress?

I have enjoyed most of Saulnier's previous films, but what I appreciated in them is what is most lacking in Rebel Ridge: tautness and restraint. The film is 131 minutes, but could have been improved were it 40 minutes shorter. Rebel Ridge is an B picture inflated with pretension. The message seems to be that there are racist and corrupt members of the constabulary in the deep south. As they say in New Orleans, quelle surprise! A cutting edge statement, for 1947. Saulnier's skill as a director makes most of the non-lethal whup-ass watchable, but his self written narrative is hokey. Maybe I should cut the guy some slack because Rebel Ridge was a troubled shoot, delayed by COVID and other problems. John Boyega, originally cast as Terry, left the project after a month of filming and his character appears in nearly every scene. I appreciated Aaron Pierre's understated performance and felt that it helped ground a film prone to hysteric overkill. Pierre seems to realize that his character's mythic aura need not be proclaimed loudly. He is nonchalant even plucking, bare handed, a fish from a stream. I also liked Ms. Robb, who showed promise early in both Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Bridge to Terabithia. Most of the other actors are fine, but Saulnier indulges his veterans. Don Johnson is pure cornpone as the sheriff and James Cromwell muffs his accent as a judge. Overall, Rebel Ridge is not bad, but it is certainly not good.