Saturday, November 9, 2024

Movie Review: ‘Rebel Ridge’ Finds a Stoic Star in Aaron Pierre


Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Writer: Jeremy Saulnier
Stars: Aaron Pierre, Don Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, David Denman

Synopsis: An ex-Marine grapples his way through a web of small-town corruption when an attempt to post bail for his cousin escalates into a violent standoff with the local police chief.


Control is a funny thing. We all think we have it, until suddenly we don’t. And then we realize that control which feels solid, is shaky, at best. Outside of our awareness, due to circumstances out of our power, the mask begins to slip. For some of us, the reactions to lack of control leak out; a twitch of the eye muscles, a clench of the fist, a catch of the breath. But in dire circumstances, like those faced in Rebel Ridge, they rocket out until the control can be regained by force of will.

Terry Richmond (a pitch perfect Aaron Pierre) opens the film, eyes forward, biceps flexed, riding a bicycle with heavy metal blasting in her earbuds, on an empty road. He is a man possessed, focused on a task that only he knows. The sequence that follows is the first of many brilliant feints by writer/director Jeremy Saulnier. As a police cruiser appears behind him with its lights flashing, we are already for our hero to evade and conquer. But Rebel Ridge has more on its mind than simply being a revenge thriller.  Instead, Terry is tapped by the cruiser and goes tumbling before being grabbed by the police. Officers Marston (David Denman) and Lann (Emory Cohen) search him, find cash, and accuse him of criminal acts. Although Terry explains that the money is to be used to bail out his cousin Michael, the police show their true colors and immorally, if not illegally, seize the money putting him in a horrible position.

This is the fork in the road. A simpler film would have its equally simple villains and a hero to root for. And it would have worked just fine. Terry is easy to root for. He cares about his family. He served in the Marine Corps. He is trying, always, to do the right thing. But, thankfully, this is not the story that Saulnier chooses to tell. Instead, Rebel Ridge becomes about more than the singular. How do we fight for what’s right when all the symbols of what should be right are against us? Terry goes through the proper channels. He tells the police the truth, he asks for help at the courthouse, he even, in a both tense and comedic standoff with Chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson), attempts to file a police report naming the police thieves. But, predictably, he meets repeated brick walls.  His only actual assistance comes from a lawyer in training,Summer McBride (AnnaSophia Robb), and a Black police officer relegated to administrative work, Jessica Sims (Zsané Jhé). Despite Saulnier not hitting excessively hard on the identities of our sometimes heroes, racial and otherwise, it is certainly no coincidence that both of these people operate in the world from a disempowered position.

But truly, this film hinges completely on the presence and performance of Aaron Pierre. Although Rebel Ridge had a troubled and delayed production (John Boyega was originally cast and left reportedly due to disagreements about the script), it feels like everything lined up just right. Pierre never strikes a false note, and he is on screen for pretty much the entire runtime. Odd for what could have been an action film, Pierre is infinitely watchable, but also measured and controlled. There are moments where it feels as if the script gets a bit lost in the weeds, focusing for a bit too long on the plot mechanics of police corruption, but none of that ends up detracting from the experience, because we are in the bag for Terry from the first seconds of the film. 

It would be simpler if Pierre’s character was on one end or the other of an emotional vs stoic spectrum. Thankfully, the choices made on both a script level and from the actor himself allow Terry to be a real character, who is desperately trying to remain locked in during situations that could easily allow him to break. Pierre embodies his character’s military background effortlessly. The way he moves, the way he holds (and disassembles) a weapon, his tendency to let people speak until they make errors. In one particular moment, he takes the medical bracelet of a character who has died, in direct communication with the military pattern of taking a fallen soldier’s dog tags. It is one of many subtle visual moments that allow us inside the mind of our protagonist, without needless dialogue or monologue. 

If you are looking for a simple revenge film, Rebel Ridge is not the right tree to bark up. Smartly, it never allows us the stock happy endings we crave. If you are going to make a movie about fighting against structural inequality, an ending like that will always be disingenuous and eye rolling in its misunderstanding of reality. People die. Systems are not dismantled. But the small victories can allow us hope. Our heroes are not perfect. But they can do the right thing. No matter the consequences, what is right does not change. 

Grade: A-

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