Garrett Hedlund- Russell - After being released from prison, Russel reconnects with his family and friend. He struggles making peace with his past and the loss of his mother while incarcerated. Garrett plays this character with a somber and brooding attitude, in a a low timbre. I think Garrett does a great job making Russel feel real relatable.
Willa Fitzgerald - Maben- Maben struggles to make a life for herself and her daughter Analee. Willa Fitzgerald is the stand out star of this film for me. From the moment she appears on screen, I was glued to her performance. Willa brought such realism to Maben. I could feel her pain, joy, and resilience. Definitely a diamond in the rough.
Mel Gibson- Mitchell- Russels father. Mel Gibson is very much a supporting character in this movie, despite being on the cover of the DVD. Mitchel is there to support his son, and help where he can. He feels like a plot device to help move things forward. Honestly, Mel could have been replaced by any older actor and the effect would have been the same.
Thought this was going to be more action-oriented, but its more of a noir character piece. The visuals were really well done, shots framed nicely. Shot in 16 days! Which is crazy.
Main characters don't meet until 52 mins in (out of 1hr52 min runtime), which is waaaay too late. It felt like two separate films at times. It took even longer to get background info on them.
Theres a lot of extra content in the movie that seems very out of place. Theres a scene of Russels past partner, who was not mentioned before and we don't see again.
Then we have the character of Larry, the main antagonist. Usually this kind of role is one-dimensional, a way to create conflict. But instead, a large chunk of this film is the Larry Show. We see his marital problems, drinking problems, fathering problems, etc. He even gets a big finale. I like that they were trying to make him more rounded, but it was all too much. Felt like we learned more about him than the two leads!
This all hurt the pacing of the film and left it feeling overly long. Without these, the viewer could focus more on the intertwining stories of Maben and Russel. It could have been more enjoyable to piece together their mysteries.
It feels like we are piecing together the mystery, a very Noir plot. Every action felt significant. There was a decent amount of tension. And the conclusion felt satisfying. You just have to fight through all the extra stuff to get there.
Desperation Road is a heavy tale of the human struggle and redemption. Russel and Maben feel as if they are connected by an invisible thread. I enjoyed seeing how the film laid out their journeys, with the exception of the odd side character tales. I give Desperation Road, a staunch 6.5/10.
-GremlinLord615 - Video version on YT.
