This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
No More Mister Nice Guy
Plot Overview
Women tend to handle divorces better
than their men do, because women are more likely to have supportive
social structures outside of the marriage itself. City girl Rachel
(Caren Pistorius) is in the throes of divorcing her old man, but she
has fall back connections. Her free divorce lawyer Andy (Jimmi Simpson)
is also her best friend. Her son Kyle (Gabriel Bateman) although up
for detention is doing well in school—they practice vocabulary
in the car—and she's reading a book on helping children cope with
their parents' divorce. Until she can get an affordable place of their own,
they are staying with her brother Fred (Austin P. McKenzie) & his
fiancée Mary (Juliene Joyner.) Rachel has unfortunately just lost
her best client at the salon but she has others.
Working stiff “Tom”
(Russell Crowe) is not so lucky. His ex and her slimeball lawyer have
taken him to the cleaners after evidently having had sex together.
She got the house, the car, and the kids, and she's starting on a
new family. We presume that her lawyer helped her get Tom's bank accounts,
too, and that she was indirectly responsible for his losing his job
right before he'd have qualified for a pension. He is left with the
tools of his trade, his pickup truck, and sleepless nights. His
response of “violence and retribution” against his
ex will land him on the wrong side of the law, and he knows it but
doesn't care. He takes meds to assuage his aching, working man's body.
He nods off at a traffic light provoking the stressed mama behind
him to lay on her horn. This is not going to end well.
Ideology
When he apparently has followed Rachel to a gas station, one of the male customers has a word with him figuring him for a bully subject to intimidation, but it doesn't work out that way. There's precious little backstory on this guy, but he's an easy read. He's built like a bear and compensates with a gracious manner that puts people at ease. Even while he's beating a lawyer to a pulp in a diner the other patrons can scarcely take it in. He doesn't seem villainous. He's habitually the first to apologize in any disagreement, and he removes his wedding ring before killing his (divorced) wife. How noble. He honored his vow till death do them part, the divorce decree notwithstanding. He's like a misguided Boy Scout.
His wife thought him a teddy bear to be taken advantage of. He was committed to their marriage, was a good provider, and was always gracious in an argument. His spectator sport of choice was relatively benign—he derived his ad hoc pseudonym from an Australian-Dutch cricketer named Tom Cooper. He didn't play with guns but rather adapted tools and household items (pick-axe, gasoline, lighter, kitchen knife, electrical cord, pickup truck) along with his muscular build for eventual killings. The ex was on a roll of abuse and didn't consider, (Prov. 30:33) “Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.” You churn that liquid long enough and it changes to a spread. Keep provoking a softie relentlessly, year after year, and he'll firm up.
Rachel for her part ran into the nosebleed phenomenon. You wring a person on any other part of his body, and you're merely a nuisance. Wring his nose, you get wet work. The guy was a good driver able to put up with all kinds of nonsense. What got to him was the F.U. in Rachel's belatedly voiced apology and earlier in her “effing courtesy honk.” She need give merely a “courtesy tap” to get his attention. He gets plenty of F.U. and little enough appreciation from life as is.
Production Values
“” (2020) was directed by Derrick Borte. Its screenplay was written by Carl Ellsworth. It stars Russell Crowe and Caren Pistorius. Crowe's character was so realistic it was frightening. Pistorius gave us a harried mom a lot of women can relate to. Her kid seemed smart if a little forward in his suggestions—it was probably for being a wiseacre that he got put in detention.
MPAA rated it R for strong violent content, and language throughout. Some of the violence was vicious. There were some spectacular car crashes. The pacing was relentless.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
There was some stock footage—shot in a sharper contrast—shown at the beginning, of traffic congestion along with incidents of road rage. Here a narrator gives running commentary on the effects of stress in our modern world. This movie was intentionally formulated as a cautionary tale. I have no doubt that patrons having seen it will drive safer heading home than when coming to the show.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Edge of your seat action-packed. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Absolutely amazing special effects. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: Don't watch this movie alone. Overall movie rating: Five stars out of five.
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