This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Middle Of Nowhere
Plot Overview
The prosperous Yakuza gang out
of Osaka, Japan needing a way station in the U.S. to hold their gold bullion in transit has
bought off the whole town of Normal, Minnesota, pop. 1890 and one moose, for to use their
bank vault. The bank security is their watchers to make sure
nothing goes amiss. The town is now well armed and has plenty of
dough, not to mention the perennial snow.
When their sheriff died under a cloud of conjecture,
the pragmatic townsfolk got a new interim lawman Ulysses
Richardson (Mr. Odenkirk) who they first ascertained wouldn't
do anything. He was still smarting from an unrighteous
shooting he got away with at his last job. Here was a place he
could brush off any of its altogether minor infractions, and nobody
would care. He in fact became popular for his laissez faire style.
Out of
towners Lori (Reena Jolly) & Keith (Brendan Fletcher) come rob
Normal's Bank only to be disappointed by the paucity of money
in the tills (“Nobody uses cash anymore.”) Sheriff
Ulysses shows up to talk sense to them just as they forced the bank
workers to open the vault. Deputy Blaine Anderson (Ryan Allen) of
divided loyalties can't let the sheriff get a gander of what's
inside so he plugs him in the back—in his vest. It's a
slippery slope, and the whole town comes after the three
“innocents,” while the watchers have
electronically alerted their intolerant Yakuza masters of
an unknown threat. The proverbial sh!t hits the fan
and Normal becomes the old world of Noah when per
astrophysicist Hugh Ross, “It seems
mathematically plausible that in the days before Noah's
flood, by far the most common cause of death must have been murder.
Humanity was in imminent danger of self-extermination”
(97). To save themselves from the wrath of the en route Yakuza
hoods, they construct a veritable Potempkin Village to make
everything seem copacetic.
Ideology
The heavy homicidal action lends itself to comparison
with one of Kenny Rogers's songs concerning a chance encounter with
"The Gambler" on a train bound for nowhere. He offered his fellow
passenger the advice that "the secret to surviving is knowing what
to throw away and knowing what to keep." The refrain of the song goes:
You've got to know when to hold 'em, Know when to fold 'em, Know when to walk away, Know when to run. You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table. There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.
This wisdom of the gambling man's repertoire is old as the hills and was passed on by a raconteur, Agur in Proverbs 30:1, whose four metaphors offered the same life advice as did Rogers's Gambler. That we find in, (Prov. 30:29-31) “There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going: A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any; A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.”
We have Agur's “lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any,” and we have Rogers's “know[ing] when to hold 'em.” In our movie when Sheriff Ulysses has an opportunity to leave town and let them fend for themselves, he mans up and stays to do his job.
We have Agur's “king, against whom there is no rising up,” and we have Rogers's “Know[ing] when to fold 'em.” A king who knows when to give in to his subjects doesn't experience any uprising. The Sheriff & his deputy give the arriving Yakuza convoy a guided tour of their little town including the bank vault with all their gold in it. Then they all sit down to a community meal, peaceful city personified.
We have Agur's "he
goat also" and we have Rogers's “Know[ing] when to walk
away.” The troubled sheriff stepped away from his former
position to give himself some space to think and to try to
reconcile with his longsuffering wife.
We have Agur's “greyhound” and Rogers's “Know[ing] when to run.” The sheriff sets up the two would-be bank robbers in an armored vehicle to flee town ahead of an angry populace.
The gambler gave the advice:
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.
Here we have them all literally sitting down at a table for a scrumptious meal, but it ain't over just yet. Our hero ultimately settles in Placid Shores, Texas with his wife Penny.
Production Values
“” (2025) was directed by Ben Wheatley. It was written by Derek Kolstad and Bob Odenkirk. It stars Bob Odenkirk, Ryan Allen, Lena Headey and Billy MacLellan. The acting was adequate for an action flick, and Odenkirk already versed in movie fighting received supplemental training.
MPA rated it R for strong bloody violence, and
language. The pacing was plot-appropriate. The Normal characters
seemed to be people good at heart who'd made a BIG mistake. The
action was intense. It was filmed on location in Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada. Runtime is 1½ hours.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
Here's one where we cheer a sheriff on his hard path to redemption having to face hard choices he'd tried to avoid. The opening scene prepares us for a violence the Normal town belies, but there are signs. Not for the squeamish.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Edge of your seat action in places. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Well done special effects. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.
Rogers, Kenny. Songwriter Don Schlitz. “The Gambler.” Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Pub. LLC. Web.
Ross, Hugh. Noah's Flood Revisited. © 2025 by Reasons to Believe. Covina, CA: rtb Press. First edition. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org