RUSHLIGHTS (Original and Director's Cut)
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
[Note: I realized that after I arranged to see this film to review
it that it is a film that I saw and wrote about on its original
release in 2013. The director is Antoni Stutz and this is his
unrated director's cut of RUSHLIGHTS. In the interim the film has
been re-edited, the sound has been improved, and in some cases
scenes have been added. What I have to say below in my original
review still holds true in my opinion. Stutz has taken the
original twisty story and left it just as twisty. He took some of
the rough edges and roughened them up even more. The new film is a
little bloodier and a little stronger and a little more painful to
watch, but I will stand by the same rating. Oh, and Wikipedia
defines "rushlight" as "a type of candle or miniature torch formed
by soaking the dried pith of the rush plant in fat or grease. For
several centuries rushlights were a common source of artificial
light for poor people throughout the British Isles."]
CAPSULE: RUSHLIGHTS claims to be based on a true story. I am
not sure I believe it. Reality is just not that twisty. Billy
and Sarah, two young lovers, each a little crooked, go to
flyspeck Texas town Tremo so Sarah can impersonate her
look-alike roommate. The roommate, recently deceased from an
overdose, was to inherit a large sum of money. They stand to
be very rich if Sarah can pull off the fraud. But their
deception turns out to be just one more thing in Tremo that
is not what it seems. With more engaging leads this film
might be one that people would want to see a second time--
just to get straight all that happened. Co-written and
directed by Antoni Stutz, the RUSHLIGHTS script keeps the
viewer guessing. Rating: +1 (-4 to +4) or 6/10
RUSHLIGHTS reminded me of early Coen Brothers. When the surprises
start they just keep coming. Billy Brody (played by Josh Henderson)
and Sarah (Haley Webb) are young and in love, and both have shady
pasts. Sarah's roommate, who happens to look a lot like Sarah, dies
of a drug overdose. Billy finds a letter to the roommate saying she
is about to inherit a large sum of money from an uncle in Tremo,
Texas. Billy and Sarah decide that Sarah looks enough like her
roommate to impersonate the dead girl long enough collect the
money. The two go to Tremo not knowing the rats' nest of
complications their attempted deception was about to uncover. There
they find themselves between their lawyer Cameron Brogden (Aidan
Quinn) and Sheriff Robert Brogden, Jr. (Beau Bridges), two brothers
who take opposite views of the young couple.
This film falls into the "Southern town with lots hidden under the
surface" category. The lighting is distinctly film noir-ish with
characters carved out of darkness. The photography is stylish and
the film looks better than it feels. Before it is over there will
be a lot of shooting, a lot of violence and even more blood.
The film would be intriguing but both of the main characters are
plagued by flat acting. Josh Henderson is supposedly familiar from
TV's revival of "Dallas", though I cannot say I have seen it. We
see very little into their characters, perhaps intentionally from
the script. Perhaps for reason top billing goes to Aiden Quinn and
Beau Bridges who really are in supporting roles. Perhaps they have
more name recognition than the younger actors.
It is not clear that some of the plot twists really contribute much
to the story. They may be there for surprise value, but if they
were not there it would be essentially the same story. A few are
genuine twists. At times the film does not make a lot of sense. The
script should have said something about how the discovery of the
roommate's corpse back in L.A. is not going upset their plans.
Holes in the plans stand there like the elephant in the room that
nobody seems to think of.
There is some suspense in this film and I cannot deny there are
surprises. With better actors this could have been a solid
thriller. But if the main characters cannot make the viewer care
what happens to them, the rest of the goings on does not matter
much.
I rate RUSHLIGHTS a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale or 6/10.
Film Credits: <
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1536437/combined>
What others are saying: <
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rushlights/>
Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 2016 Mark R. Leeper
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