There are certain things that happens which requires immediate justice but then, the government rules denies us that and sometimes our conscience comes out to play. The story of this movie is familiar but it was well acted (not really satisfactory to me).
When I watched this movie, it reminded me of a police harassment situation I experienced a few years back. I was stopped on the road for no reason, my particulars were complete, still they brought me in for not obeying their bribe request. When we got to the station, I made a call directly to my workplace, that was when I was released. The police officers who arrested me didn't know I was a force personnel too and that became a mistake for them. Did I get the justice I wanted? Oh yes, I did
”Rebel Ridge” is an action crime thriller that was distributed by Netflix with just 131 minutes running time. This film was written, produced, directed and edited by Jeremy Saulnier. It starred Aaron Pierre, Don Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, David Denman, Emory Cohen, Steve Zissis, Zsané Jhé, Dana Lee and James Cromwell.
The story of the movie is about a Marine corp, Terry Richmond, who rides into the town of Shelby Springs, Louisiana to go post bail for his cousin Mike and then buys a pick up truck to continue their lives afterwards. But that was not the case for Terry because on his way, he was suddenly rammed into and later detained by two police officers (Evans and Steve). These Two police officers searched his bag and pockets, found cash ($36,000) on him. Despite the money being legitimate, they seized it from him.
After this, Terry quickly went to the courthouse for help, so that he could get his money back before the time to post bail for Mike was over, but the courthouse clerk refused to help and gave him implausible excuses. Terry met another staff member, Summer, who promised to help him if he could get some of $10k to the courthouse so that his cousin's bail could be posted before Thursday or he would be in danger for being a snitch.
On the other hand, Terry goes to report in the police station about his stolen money but encounters the police chief, Sandy. He gaslighted Terry into believing there is no hope of getting his money back. But then, Terry offers to drop the matter if he could get $10k from his money and the rest goes to them. His proposal was rejected, he was told to come back on Monday maybe it could be sorted out. On Monday, Terry arrived at the station but was told that he had just missed his cousin. How will Terry handle this situation? Will justice prevail? Will Mike, his cousin, survive until his bail is posted?
My Review And Rating.
This movie is a very decent action thriller that I can recommend for anyone to watch, but for me, I needed more carnage for this movie to be an “off-the-hook” action, crime thriller. I love that this movie combined three genres together. It was well mixed up together, I will give them that, but the action part was on a mild level for me. I wished more damage and chaos was done for the action. It would have made this movie oddly satisfying and justifying. Regardless, this didn't stop me from finishing the movie to the end.
Watching this movie tested my patience because I have been in this situation before as mentioned above. I know how it feels to be smothered and suffocated when the system has it out for you. Yes the law was drafted for the sake of the civilians but in my own eyes, the system doesn't support the poor, unconnected or helpless civilians. The rich, powerful and well connected people break these laws on a daily basis and walk free.
I say that Jeremy did an amazing job with the plot. He wrote the storyline in a very relatable manner and it depicted what happens everyday on the street. The suspense was built well that his lead character was cut out from the yard clothes of patience and calmness, which I admire. Regardless of the fact that the main character is a highly trained marine Corp, he kept a cool head all through and retaliated when it was needed. This aspect made me expect a big payback but in the end it was a decent and believable one.
I see good potential in Aaron Pierre. I think he will be doing well in the film industry and I hope he gets the opportunity to showcase more of his talent. He played his role well and enjoyed every bit of it. He was charismatic, confident, smart and intense. The other actors were great also, especially Don Johnson and AnnaSophia Robb.
The scene arrangements were perfectly done. The choreography and cinematography were simple but effective to achieve its goals. The location was befitting. Small town, the police station and all. The directorial style was great and it was obvious that good research was made before this movie was produced. The visual outlook was great and the camera work was fantastic. I barely looked at my phone all through the movie. I was hooked from the beginning to the end.
Rating this movie, I will give it 7 out of 10 stars. It was a good movie, I enjoyed watching it. I was hooked from start to finish. It's a decent crime thriller film that will keep you glued to the screen till the end. I will recommend you watch it if you have not seen it yet. It is worth the time.
All images above are from the movie screenshots
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