A strong cast and a 'based on real events' remit give 'Bad Country' a decent start, but does the film fully deliver on its promise of its gritty gumbo ingredients?
Jesse Weiland is a contract killer with a side-line in safe-cracking. But when frustrated Louisiana detective Bud Carter (Willem Dafoe) gets a lead on him, pressure is applied to help them build a case against his employer, the flamboyant but deadly Lutin. Jesse wants none of it, even prepared to go to jail for the rest of his life. But when Lutin takes measures to ensure Jesse’s silence, the actions backfire and make the killer a more dangerous adversary. But can Weiland and Carter side-step the distrust in both their ranks to build an airtight case?
With both the criminal and federal organisations suffering leaks, the game gets even more deadly and soon both men find themselves compromised by others’ decisions and on a collision course in downtown New Orleans…
Louisiana and its key cities such as New Orleans and Baton Rouge have long been something of a magnet for thrillers – projects as diverse as The Big Easy, A Time to Kill and even the forth-coming NCIS spin-off have all been set and shot within its borders.
After a career that includes producing the cult Boondock Saints films, Chris Brinker makes his directing debut with a thriller that mixes a lot of familiar elements into its gumbo, but tends to make its ‘noir’ more grubby than black. While Bad Country pays some lip-service to the Deep South location, particularly in the opening and closing monologue, it’s not a film that wraps itself in the specific spice-scented atmosphere of the area , and could actually be set in the backwater suburbia of any area where racism and opportunism are sometimes given a long leash.
The film twists a vague-line between the procedural parts of its ‘inspired by real events’ claim and the more formulaic elements that quickly suggest the liberties taken with creating a story for the screen. At first, the political shenanigans and red-tape indicate we’re going to get a film that will try for some augmented authenticity and both Dillon and Dafoe give us performances that are devoid of the usual Hollywood sheen. Much of the first half of the movie deals with setting up their very uneasy and pragmatic alliance as other members of their respective teams run interference with their own agendas.
The supporting cast are also familiar faces with mixed success in their roles. Berenger’s Lutin feels like a better fed descendant of DiCaprio’s Django Unchained villain and while he does a nice line in verbal menace, the problems are obvious when required to execute a fight sequence late in the production. McDonough – often a tough guy – is cast against type as a weasely lawyer with Amy Smart shuffled off-stage far too quickly as Weiland’s wife. Also watch out of a bewigged Kevin Chapman (Person of Interest) as the worst kind of villain – a lobbyist.
But like far too many films these days – and despite its superior elements - Bad Country loses some of its momentum as it heads into its third act and fails to have the courage of all its convictions - with the story falling into the familiar territory of throwing enough firearms into its mix, kick-starting gunfights and hoping scattershot bullets hit some demographic targets. It’s not an awful experience by any means, these are actors always worth watching, but there’s enough here to enjoy to also discern what’s missing and how it could all have been a little more satisfying.
Bad Country (15) is released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and is out now.
Review score: 7 out of 10
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