A sheriff tries to keep the peace when a desperate family man violently robs a pill mill with his brother-in-law, alerting an enforcer for the New Orleans mafia.
Saban Films is a small distribution company that releases mostly independent movies across North America. The general public does not see many of their titles as they typically go straight to VOD and streaming, bypassing theaters for the most part. Bruce Willis, before he retired from acting, had a lot of his films released through Saban, many of his terrible movies, so when I was offered the chance to watch “Mob Land,” starring John Travolta, Stephen Dorff, and Shiloh Fernandez, and saw Saban as the film’s distributor, I was initially hesitant but now and again, a small gem falls through the cracks, and that’s precisely what “Mob Land” is.
Set in a small Southern town, Bodie Davis (John Travolta) is the sheriff who has just found out he has terminal cancer. Shelby Connors (Shiloh Fernandez) and his wife Caroline (Ashley Benson), and their young daughter, Mila (Tia DiMartino), live a tranquil life in the country. When Shelby loses his job as a long-distance truck driver, his brother-in-law Trey (Kevin Dillon) hatches a plan to steal money from a small pharmacist in town fronting for a local drug dealer. Shelby is reluctant, but the thought of losing his home is enough to inspire him to join Trey, only as the getaway driver, but things don’t go according to plan. When Trey kills two people in the heist, the two brothers quickly learn that the Mafia owns the shop, and when you steal from them, there is nowhere to hide.
The story is reminiscent of Taylor Sheridan’s “Hell or High Water,” which starred Chris Pine and Ben Foster as two brothers who resort to bank robbery to keep their family home. But that’s where the similarities end. The movie exudes smalltown atmosphere; closed-down shops, regulars who frequent the local diner daily, and a community who know each other and don’t take kindly to strangers, but that’s precisely what happens when the Mafia’s enforcer, Clayton (Stephen Dorff), arrives in town, determined to find the perpetrators responsible for the robbery and kill them.
In his feature film directorial debut, director Nicholas Maggio assembles a top-notch cast and elicits terrific performances from each of them. While the film’s poster brandishes Travolta with a very big gun, thereby giving the impression that he is the star, it’s Shiloh Fernandez and Stephen Dorff who take that monicker, with Travolta more of a supporting character, but that doesn’t stop him from stealing the show whenever he is onscreen.
When Clayton discovers who the thieves are, he is quick to dispatch Trey, a brash loudmouth, but decides against killing Shelby, intrigued by his quiet demeanor and genuine remorse for his actions. When asked why he did it, Shelby states that he recently lost his job and didn’t want to lose his family house as the sole provider for his family. Instead, Clayton tracks down two employees from the pharmacy who witnessed the robbery and tells Shelby if he kills them, he will let him go. Now he must decide to shoot them or risk losing his own life.
Performance-wise, Stephen Dorff steals the show. Getting on in his years, he is used to dealing with remorseless, low-life reprobates, but Shelby presents a dilemma; a soft-spoken, family man who gives the money back, Clayton finds himself torn between wanting to let him go and fulfilling his job requirements for the Mafia by tying up all loose ends.
The one aspect that prevented me from giving the film a higher rating, which I wanted to, is director Nicholas Maggio’s preferred shooting style. I have never been a fan of the handheld technique, which creates uneven movement with a greater sense of immediacy for the audience, but when used constantly, it can cause queasiness and even nausea, especially on a big screen. Using it sparingly can sometimes work, I know, I’ve included it in some of my own movies, but here, over 99% of the film is shot utilizing this particular style, and after some time, you find yourself looking away from the screen because of motion sickness.
In the end, this one gripe aside, “Mob Land” evokes memories of “Blood Simple,” “Paris, Texas,” and “Red Rock West.” Not to say it is as good as these classics, some of which have been in the public consciousness for almost 40 years, but it perfectly captures the intrinsic nature of Smalltown USA, and not just what is visible, but also what goes on behind closed doors. I eagerly await Mr. Maggio’s next feature film.
In Theaters Friday, August 4th
