The Minute You Wake Up Dead
Neo-noir flick a kick because its characters are d*cks.
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Co-writer/director Michael Mailer’s neo-noir “The Minute You Wake Up Dead” (now available in select theaters and on VOD) certainly recalls the 1990s works of John Dahl – namely “Red Rock West” and “The Last Seduction.” It doesn’t hit the heights of those flicks, but it’s good for a coupla kicks.
Cole Hauser stars as Russ, a stockbroker who’s just lost himself and many of his customers a boatload of cash betting on a merger that never materialized. These losses have essentially made Russ persona non grata in his small Mississippi town. Things are so bad for Russ that even law enforcement in the form of Sheriff Thurmond Fowler (Morgan Freeman) won’t hesitate to threaten him, i.e. he best not jaywalk or drive 36 mph in a 35 zone. Seemingly the only person to show this sad sack any sympathy or kindness is Delaine (Jaimie Alexander), Russ’ high school classmate/crush and next door neighbor who waits tables at the local diner.
Things go from bad to worse when Russ begins receiving anonymous phone calls during which the voice intones, “Do you know where you’ll be the minute you wake up dead?” Things get worse still when a mysterious figure breaks into Delaine’s home and shoots and kills her father Carl (David Dahlgren) assuming he’s Russ. Sheriff Fowler’s on the case and rightly or wrongly sets his sights directly on Russ.
Hauser, Alexander and Freeman are all pros and mostly do their largely unlikable characters justice. They’re supported by Darren Mann as Lucius, a short-order cook who works at the diner alongside Delaine. Mann, who was so good a few years back in the familial MMA drama “Embattled,” plays his character like an entertainingly large (arguably, too large) variation on Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel from “The Simpsons.”
If you’ve ever seen a noir movie before you likely know where this is all headed … and to a certain extent you’re right … but the flick still manages to spring a few surprises. Most of these surprises stem from our characters making dumber than dumb decisions. These criminals are so greedy and so inept you’d half expect them to hold Cabinet positions in the Trump administration.
I can’t in good conscience recommend “TMYWUD” as a piece of quality cinema, but I had fun watching these deplorables behave deplorably. Mailer, son of famed journalist and novelist Norman, has made a guilty pleasure that’s likely to entertain … if not entirely please … noir devotees. It’s handsomely photographed by “Crank” cinematographer Adam Biddle (there’s an overhead shot that’s a real doozy) and should please fans of Hauser (of which there’s a growing number judging by the proliferation of Rip Wheeler Halloween costumes this year), Alexander or Freeman. There are worse things you could spend 90 minutes watching.