Not to be confused with Nobody or even Nobody 2 which came out just a few weeks ago, Bob Odenkirk a
Not to be confused with Nobody or even Nobody 2 which came out just a few weeks ago, Bob Odenkirk already has his next uber action movie on deck. In fact, Normal premiered at midnight to a rowdy crowd at the Toronto Film Festival and if the audience’s reaction is any indication it’s another hit for this unlikely action star who is quick following in the footsteps of Charles Bronson, Steven Seagal and Bruce Willis. Who dreamed it would be Saul filling the massive void in Hollywood?
Odenkirk plays Ulysses, the recent substitute sheriff in the very compact Minnesota town of Normal, a Fargo-esqe location where the previous sheriff has passed away under mysterious circumstances, possibly involving a moose (a massive symbol throughout the film). Ulysses he is only there until an election can be held. Meanwhile, he patrols the streets and makes sure peace is at hand. But before we get to Normal, the film opens a pre-credits sequence in Japan at a meeting of the Yakuza, where, as is the criminal organization’s custom, three members are asked to slice off a finger in order to show loyalty. The first two do so, but the third has his finger caught dipping into the cookie jar so to speak. It doesn’t end well for him in what is a bloody good start to director Ben Wheatley‘s latest foray into extreme violence.
Nothing action-wise proceeds to happen for the first 40 minutes — sans the finger pointing in Osaka — and that is typical for Wheatley (Kill List, Sightseers, Meg 2, Free Fire) who likes to take it real sluggish and straightforward and then, when you least expect it, pow! And btw the Yakuza connection to town is that its leaders incluuding the Mayor played by Henry Winkler are corrupt and had agreed to be the place the Yakuza could hide all the money they acquired in America.
At any rate, the fireworks begin when the bank is robbed by two , well, robbers, who are disappointed when being told by the manager, “nobody uses cash anymore”. Nevertheless and the whole place is being shot up – Yakuzas, locals, employees – you name it. Sheriff Ulysses, looking at this as his first massive crisis, decides to walk in like Gary Cooper in High Noon and take them all on. He makes a memorable entrance into the bank crashing through the glass door, but with his own deputies Alex (Jess McLeod) and Blaine Anderson (Ryan Allen) — the latter is running for sheriff — holding back, the only lend a hand he really gets is from those robbers, Keith (Brendan Fletcher) and Lori (Reena Jolly), who shoot at anyone but him. In a case of strange bedfellows he notices that kindness under fire and they become allies as the siege continues.
The crooked mayor looking to do anything to stop the mayhem and keep the Yakuza ecstatic threatens him with an offer: If he agrees to kill them on the spot, he will promise nothing bad will happen to the recent sheriff (as in what possibly happened to the ancient). Ulysses hangs up on him and then it is game on. The mayor and his brood don’t know what they are in for. Basically the carnage is all nonstop from this point on, a festival of killing in all kinds of nifty ways. The stunt guys are busy.
With a script by Nobody creator Derek Kolstad from his and Odenkirk’s story, this movie also looks to be channeling ’50s classics like Bad Day at Black Rock and Violent Saturday. It is once again a fine showcase for the late-blooming action star, but the movie has other good actors to go with the scenery including Winkler and Lena Headey, who plays Moira from the town bar, a person who has more talents than you might imagine. Fletcher and Jolly win audience love here, and Allen’s naked ambition to become sheriff is quite amusing. However, Odenkirk rules this roost just as he does in the Nobody movies, but with the firepower Wheatley keeps shooting Normal manages to exceed those action levels if you can believe it.
Shout out to cinematographer Armando Salas, whose visual palette includes lots of snow and storms, giving this film a unique and chilly vibe for a current Western.
Producers are Odenkirk, Kolstad and fellow Nobody alum Marc Provissiero.
Title: Normal
Festival: Toronto (Midnight Madness)
Director: Ben Wheatley
Screenwriter: Derek Kolstad
Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Henry Winkler, Lena Headey, Jess McLeod, Ryan Allen, Billy MacLellan, Brendan Fletcher, Reena Jolly
Sales agent: WME
Running time: 1 hr 30 mins
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