Since the 2020 Pandemic and the 2023 Hollywood Strike, looks like it was long time ago but it was not, there has been a trend of productions that have gone through hell with many director changes and even re writes, not even the big players like Marvel can escape from this disaster with the most recent example Blade, well the upcoming film "Rebel Ridge" a Netflix release has been through the same situation, it has been in the process of filming and being developed through some production and casting issues and setbacks, although challenges have not bend down the film from achieving some form of publicity among the critics as well as the audiences. The plot occurs in the fictional city of Shelby Springs and tells about Terry Richmond, an ex-Marine, who become involved in the local corruption and unfairness, reminds me a lot to REACHER the TV series, Terry’s struggle against a corrupt system guarantees that the film will be loaded with high octane action, black comedy and social commentary just hope its not the focus. Being shot with a talented cast and a director who is famous for his dark, violent approach, “Rebel Ridge” is all set to become more than just another action movie on the Netflix catalogue.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11301886/
- Platform: Netflix
- Release: September 6, 2024
The Story Behind the Scenes
A Rocky Production Journey
The film's production faced multiple incidents and challenges that attempt to stop it completely, it was schedule to go into production in April 2020, the first of many changes on its schedule agenda and it was due to the COVID 19 pandemic. The project was once again come to a halt in June 2021 when the lead actor initially cast for the movie, John Boyega walked out of the film, his exit meant the film had to stop production and take a year and a month’s break in an attempt to find a new lead actor, these delays and changes caused the budget to increase from the initially planned $25 million up to $40 million. There was not much I could find about why he left the project, Netflix did put out word that he had to leave the project due to family reasons but nothing specific, there were rumors about he was worry about the script but nothing concrete, even his agent denied all this rumors, he left after one week of filming.After this incident, director Jeremy Saulnier and his team did not give up and kept pushing to get the project done, the cast and crew had to go back to Louisiana for three consecutive years to accomplish the shooting in this movie, there was no turn around, they were very determined to shoot this story.
The Story Unfolds
The film seem to be an action packed suspenseful movie that could be a sequence of actions screens with a few drama pit stops. The movies is develop around an ex marine called Terry Richmond, role played by Aaron Pierre who gets involved in a criminal underworld of a small town. What begins as an effort to post bail for his cousin degenerates into a tense shootout with the chief of police, Sandy Burnne, played by Don Johnson. While fighting through the corruption of the local system, Terry becomes friend with Summer McBride, a court clerk portrayed by AnnaSophia Robb, this partnership brings an interesting element to the story; there can be conflict and surprises. There is nothing that we have not seen on the big screen that this film can bring to us other than a great acting and constant action to keep you entertain.
This film is directed by Jeremy Saulnier who has earlier given films like Green Room and Blue Ruin which are known for their raw and intense narrative, from how things look like just based on what we know, the trailer and plot descriptions online, “Rebel Ridge” will not be a movie that backs off from intense fight scenes or themes that are grey, cant have justice without corruption, both need to exist and that usually triggers part of the audience when injustice takes over the film. The small town environment allows for the development of such important themes as power, justice and the fight of a single person against the system of corruption, they are basically trap with no where to go and Richmond will have to power through all this situations at once. If you watch this movie and at some point makes you mad for what one of the characters may do or not I think that's the trigger point that indicates its a good movie, action movies are about generating an emotion, most of the time the stronger one coming from the villain, when you see him you hate him.
Themes & Director Contribution
The events that transpire in Shelby Springs can reflect the issues of the whole society, including the issues of the community’s involvement in the criminal activities, the problems of the reform, and the impact of the criminal activities on the citizens’ lives. All these aspects painted by Saulnier in a realistic style and with focus on details will be quite believable and relevant.Corruption will be another big topic for the film, misuse of power especially in relation to the police force and misuse of the legal procedures for personal benefit, director will bring his no holds barred approach to these themes and as such, the film could be compared to such films as “First Blood” but with a new age twist.
Lastly but probably the most important and where some part of the audience could identify with is the theme of the individual in the face of oppression, its a common if not daily problem people now days face in our society, Terry’s transformation from a man who was only trying to assist his cousin to a one man force against the system might be a force to reckon with for the fight against corruption. Director Saulnier has always had a talent for writing multi layered antiheroes, who are not always good and not always evil, which means that the conflict will not be black and white but rather a rather grey one that mirrors real-life issues.
A Stellar Cast
The cast of the film is a combination of both veteran actors and new talents, as we already know the main role is played by Aaron Pierre who develops Terry Richmond, a man who wants to rescue his cousin. Pierre, who has acted in “The Underground Railroad” and “Old” is expected to give a good presentation of himself as the protagonist. Don Johnson stars as Chief Sandy Burnne, a police chief who is rather hostile towards the protagonists, small town issues. Johnson who gained fame from the television series ‘Miami Vice’ should be able to give credibility to this character of a corrupt authority.
The lead actress of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "The Carrie Diaries" is AnnaSophia Robb who plays the role of Summer McBride a court clerk who becomes Terry’s friend and ally, she will be an asset in the emotional part of the movie as been the female role who probably will be presented to the audience as having good chemistry with Pierre. The supporting cast is composed by Emory Cohen as Officer Steve Lann, David Denman as Officer Evan Marston and Steve Zissis as Elliot, at first this characters might not be so interesting but at the once probably doing the heavy lifting around the main characters.
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