Bad Man Film Analysis: Southern-Fried Dialogue and Quirky Locals Elevate Gun-Totin’ Dark Humor Film
You could be forgiven for forming very low anticipations for this crime flick given its poster’s generically moody visuals depicting lead actor Seann William Scott holding a firearm with an power tower in the background. What a pleasant revelation to discover this is in fact a comedy, better yet, one that’s often funny in a masculine, improvised sort of way.
The Concept
The setup is that in the tiny Tennessee town of Colt Lake, a man is murdered in the street, run over by a car so many times that he resembles meatloaf. Inept yet well-meaning local cop Sam Evans, portrayed by Johnny Simmons, and his deputy DJ, enacted by Chance Perdomo, make a feeble stab at investigating, but are soon overshadowed when special agent Bobby Gaines, played by Seann William Scott, suddenly arrives, representing a regional law enforcement unit and assumes control of the case.
Unconventional Methods
Gaines’ approaches may be a little on the violent side and not exactly according to protocol, but he obtains confessions amazingly quickly and soon works his way up the certainly short crime food chain until he finds the primary antagonist. There are a few surprises, but the investigative storyline is of much less significance than the rustic banter: a steady stream of men mocking each other, maligning one another’s manhood, and generally describing each other as local failures.
Based on Reality?
Onscreen text at the beginning states that this 2008 story was inspired by actual events, but that may be as credible as the assertion at the start of the original Fargo film. And who knows—maybe one of the villains really did have a girlfriend named Destiny, portrayed by Jett Wilder, who strolled around during confrontations playing the banjo, and that Sam had a soft spot for Izzy, played by Lovi Poe, the major’s daughter, and her gorgeous collection of textured sweaters.
Directorial Flair
But the unusual details around the edges give the film character, irrespective of whether they’re based on anything real, and director Michael Diliberti and his editor have a knack for snipping in just the right place to emphasize a joke. The last few miles of the script are more than a little foreseeable, but this isn’t at all bad for a first-time filmmaker.
The Outlaw is available on digital platforms from 22 September.
