The Outlaw Film Analysis: Down-Home Script and Quirky Characters Elevate Firearm-Wielding Dark Humor Film
One might be excused for having very low anticipations for this crime flick given its poster’s predictably somber imagery showing lead actor Seann William Scott gripping a gun with an power tower in the background. What a pleasant surprise to find out this is in fact a humorous film, and even more, one that’s often humorous in a blokey, improv sort of way.
The Premise
The conceit is that in the tiny Tennessee town of Colt Lake, a man is murdered in the street, run over by a car so many times that he resembles ground meat. Inept yet well-meaning local cop Sam Evans, played by Johnny Simmons, and his deputy DJ, enacted by Chance Perdomo, make a feeble attempt at solving the case, but are soon upstaged when special agent Bobby Gaines, played by Seann William Scott, suddenly shows up, working for a statewide taskforce and takes over the case.
Unique Techniques
Gaines’ methods may be a little on the violent side and not exactly according to protocol, but he gets confessions surprisingly fast and soon works his way up the admittedly short criminal hierarchy until he finds the primary antagonist. There are a few surprises, but the crime plot is of much less significance than the southern-fried backchat: a steady patter of men insulting each other, questioning one another’s manhood, and generally describing each other as small town failures.
Based on Reality?
Opening titles at the beginning states that this narrative set in 2008 was based on real-life occurrences, but that may be as credible as the claim at the start of the classic Fargo film. And it’s possible—maybe one of the antagonists really did have a girlfriend named Destiny, portrayed by Jett Wilder, who wandered about during confrontations strumming the banjo, and that Sam had a soft spot for Izzy, played by Lovi Poe, the town official’s daughter, and her gorgeous collection of textured sweaters.
Directorial Flair
But the unusual details around the edges give the film flavor, regardless of whether they’re rooted in truth, and director Michael Diliberti and his editor have a talent for trimming in just the right place to drive home a joke. The final act of the screenplay are more than a little foreseeable, but this isn’t at all bad for a directorial debut.
The Outlaw is available on digital platforms from 22 September.
