Alan Ritchson leads Motor City, a stylish crime thriller that relies on visual storytelling, memorable music, and strong performances instead of dialogue.
If I was to give you an elevator pitch for a film about a guy who steals a gangster's girl and, in retaliation, the gangster sets the guy up on a drug bust, sending him to prison for years, you would probably be rather unimpressed. However, if I explained that the hour-and-43-minute movie only has five lines of dialogue, it might change your mind slightly. If nothing else, you would probably be intrigued, wondering how a director could keep the audience's attention for that long with nothing more than visuals and a kick-ass soundtrack. Well, Potsy Ponciroli (Old Henry) is that director, and the Chad St. John (Replicas)-penned Motor City is coming to theaters on July 24th.
It's 1977 Detroit and ex-con John Miller (Alan Ritchson; Reacher) rescues "damsel in distress," Sophia (Shailene Woodley; Divergent), from her gangster boyfriend, Reynolds (Ben Foster; 3:10 to Yuma). John and Sophia then fall in love and move in together. Some time later, John gets released from probation and asks Sophia to marry him. However, on the same day, he gets arrested for drug possession, claiming the drugs aren't his and he was set up. As he goes back to jail, Sophia and Reynolds rekindle their relationship and eventually get married. Then Sophia learns that Reynolds staged the drug bust against John and things progress from there until John breaks out of jail and tries to kill Reynolds. As you can imagine, things don't really end well for anyone involved in this love triangle.
Ritchson is the perfect person to play John, even though he looks funny with long, wavy hair and dressed in 1970s garb. He has the muscular build and a very expressive face that is necessary for this film, though I wish someone would tell him, and a few other bulked-up actors, to lay off the "juice." Woodley is terrific as Sophia and Foster is excellent as the pimp-looking gangster. Supporting cast members Pablo Schreiber (13 Hours) and Ben McKenzie (Gotham) also add to the overall feel of the film and they too do a good job. Also a fun trivia moment is when one of the film's producers, Jack White (of The White Stripes fame), has a cameo as a piano player in one of the restaurants.
The music is paramount to the success of the movie as it is a constant presence throughout. Made up primarily of 1970s hits and deeper cuts, the cadences and beats give each scene more meaning and depth than if they were simply playing in the background. Finding the right songs to create a certain atmosphere, and getting the rights to use them, would have been a monumental task and one Ponciroli obviously took seriously and did well.
Unfortunately, the effects suffer somewhat, probably from a lack of budget. They aren't very good and look fake for the most part, which takes the viewer out of the moment on more than one occasion. However, Motor City has a lot to offer overall so, if you are willing to overlook the bad effects, you will be pleasantly surprised.
In a decade marred by overproduced superhero films and both a writers' and actors' strike, Motor City brings something fresh and different to theaters that audiences most likely weren't expecting. I will admit that the first few minutes of the film made me worried that I was about to sit through 103 minutes of schlock, but nothing could be further from the truth. Long before the second act began I was intrigued, invested, and more than a little giddy with this whole concept.
If you want something a little different but still within the action/thriller genre, then I suggest giving Motor City a shot.
Grade: B
