Desperation Road

Southern noir thriller is familiar yet effective.

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“Desperation Road” (available in select theaters and on VOD beginning Friday, Oct. 6) isn’t the most original film I’ve ever seen, but it’s well-acted and well-made enough to rise above its subgenre trappings.

Russell (Garrett Hedlund) has just been released from prison after an 11-year stint. He returns to his small, Mississippi hometown and the loving arms of his widowed father Mitchell (Mel Gibson). Not everyone’s happy to see Russell back out in the world – Larry (Ryan Hurst), an angry, drunken man wronged by Russell’s misdeeds, greets him at the bus station with a brutal beating.

Maben (Willa Fitzgerald) is a young mother to Annalee (Pyper Braun). They’ve fallen on hard times and are mostly living out of door. Maben’s desperate enough that she considers turning tricks – this draws the attention of a corrupt cop named Clint (Shiloh Fernandez). He assaults Maben and invites his skeezy friends over to follow suit. Maben gets ahold of Clint’s gun and justifiably shoots and kills him. She and Annalee are now on the run.

Russell and Maben’s paths cross when she attempts to jack his truck with Clint’s pistol. Russell snatches the gat from Maben, but offers to help her and Annalee by letting them stay on Mitchell’s property.

All the while Russell’s sheriff buddy Boyd (Woody McClain) is searching for Clint’s killer. He’s hip to Maben’s possible involvement and suspects Russell knows more than he’s letting on.

“Desperation Road” is a slice of Southern noir with a healthy dose of drama. It’s helmed by actress-turned-director Nadine Crocker and scripted by Michael Farris Smith (adapting his novel of the same name). It’s arguably a bit overlong at 112 minutes, but this runtime affords us the opportunity to really familiarize ourselves with these characters. My favorite sequence of the film involves Hedlund’s Russell having a conversation with his ex-wife Sarah (Ella Thomas) on his front porch. It’s a simple scene played beautifully by these two talented actors … truly moving stuff.

Honestly, the performances are pretty solid across the board. Hedlund and Hurst border on overacting at times – the former’s accent and limp are elevated in the late goings; the latter’s acting is volcanic … his Larry is essentially an exposed nerve – but they’re both nothing less than completely watchable. Gibson lends the material substantial warmth with limited screen time. Fitzgerald and Braun make for a convincing mother-daughter combo and are the picture’s heart and soul.

You’ve seen stories along the lines of “Desperation Road” told on screen before, but it’s the telling of the tale that makes this worth a watch.