Bad Man Review: Down-Home Script and Quirky Characters Elevate Firearm-Wielding Black Comedy
One might be forgiven for having very low anticipations for this thriller movie given its poster’s generically moody imagery depicting star Seann William Scott gripping a gun with an electricity pylon in the background. What a pleasant revelation to find out 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 small Tennessee town of Colt Lake, a man is killed in the street, run over by a car so many times that he resembles meatloaf. Clueless but kindly local cop Sam Evans, played by Johnny Simmons, and his deputy DJ, enacted by Chance Perdomo, make a feeble stab at investigating, but are soon upstaged when state investigator Bobby Gaines, played by Seann William Scott, suddenly arrives, working for a regional law enforcement unit and assumes control of the case.
Unconventional Methods
Gaines’ methods may be a little on the violent side and not exactly according to protocol, but he obtains confessions surprisingly fast and soon works his way up the admittedly short criminal hierarchy until he locates the primary antagonist. There are a few surprises, but the crime plot is of much less significance than the rustic banter: a constant patter of men mocking each other, maligning one another’s masculinity, and generally describing each other as local failures.
Fact or Fiction?
Opening titles at the beginning says that this 2008 story was based on actual events, but that may hold as much water as the assertion at the start of the classic Fargo film. And it’s possible—maybe one of the antagonists really did have a girlfriend named Destiny, portrayed by Jett Wilder, who strolled around during showdowns playing the banjo, and that Sam had a sweet spot for Izzy, played by Lovi Poe, the major’s daughter, and her stunning collection of textured sweaters.
Filmmaking Style
But the unusual elements around the edges give the film character, irrespective of whether they’re rooted in truth, and director Michael Diliberti and his film cutter have a talent for snipping in just the right place to emphasize a joke. The last few miles of the screenplay are more than a little predictable, but this isn’t at all disappointing for a first-time filmmaker.
The Outlaw is on digital platforms from 22 September.
