There’s no doubt that Jeremy Saulnier can deliver a mean and unusual thriller. Blue Ruin is borderline brilliant, while Green Room does a good job at keeping you interested past its exploitation-level punks vs nazis premise. But, at the same time, Saulnier’s films tend to pay a price for their unique vision. Hold the Dark is a perfect example of this notion and now, Rebel Ridge is likely taking the same bold but faulty formula even further.
The concept of his latest film is very straightforward - a former marine martial arts expert, Terry, goes via bicycle to a local courthouse in a backwater southern US. He wants to bail his cousin Mike out of jail and do it fast, as his life might be in danger inside. That is why Tery feels that he has only a limited time to do the same before potentially deadly harm comes to Mike. But, a chance encounter with a police patrol derlails the entire plan and puts him on a crash course with the entire local law enforcement.
Some have hailed Rebel Ridge as a thinking man’s modern version of Rambo. But, while the main character, played exceedingly well by Aaron Pierre, has the charisma to pull it off, the rest of the cast does not. What’s worse, the script also doesn’t have the fuel needed for a Rambo-like experience.
There is a huge focus on the police and court procedures, which should likely shine a light on the US system’s terror of those with the wrong color of skin or insufficient bank accounts. So, the entire script from start to finish is rooted in some kind of police procedural setup. To make things worse, these procedures take over nearly two and a half hours over the course of the film’s run time, which was completely unnecessary as well. Due to this, the constant but lackluster attempt at social commentary falls short and is more of a burden to the film than anything poignant or meaningful.
Rebel Ridge is a well-crafted film with a clear artistic design behind it, as well as a cast that gave it its best shot. But, Aaron Pierre alone cannot carry the faults that Saulnier embedded in the film’s script before the first shot was even filmed.
