CUT BANK
DIRECTOR: Matt Shakman
CAST: Liam Hemsworth, John Malkovich, Billy Bob Thornton, Michael Stuhlbarg and Teresa Palmer
RUNNING TIME: 93 Minutes
CLASSIFICATION: 16 LV
RATING: ***
How far would you go to leave your small town in pursuit of your big dreams? Car mechanic, Dwayne McLaren (Hemsworth), wants to leave Cut Bank, Montana, and move to California with his girlfriend, Cassandra Steeley (Palmer). So he orchestrates a grand plan that involves a fake murder and a wad of cash.
Little does he know that his plans will be turned upside down in a matter of days.
In this thriller, a fake murder leads to real ones. While filming a video of Cassandra auditioning for the Miss Cut Bank pageant, Dwayne witnesses a shooting of a post office employee and conveniently catches it all on camera.
The police get involved and Derby Milton (Stuhlbarg), a deranged taxidermist who is expecting a package from the post office, also decides to take matters into his own hands.
What then ensues is a dark drama that is funny in all the right places without it being considered a comedy.
For instance, Thornton is hilarious as Stan, who is Cassandra’s father, as he does things like insist Dwayne call him “sir”. But just as the audience is digesting the dynamics of that relationship, Sheriff Vogel (Malkovich) enters and demands that Stan not call him by his first name as they are neither friends nor the same age and he should be addressed as “Sheriff”.
Obviously, Malkovich is impressive with his ability to rattle off sentences with fierce and threatening menace. But he also brings a tenderness to a sheriff who is in charge of a town so small and seemingly insignificant on the American map that it has never had a murder occur there before.
Stuhlbarg is also ultra creepy. The way his character is styled looks like an extension of the cinematography which often sets up scenes that look like a vintage Instagram filter, complete with browns, sparse greens and the colour of dried blood.
Cut Bank is an interesting film that won’t excite people who are looking for a cut-and- dried thriller. It’s more geared towards people with a sense of humour and an open mind. While it’s not a whodunit, you’ll find yourself guessing the outcome of each chain reaction.
If you liked Burn After Reading, you’ll love this.