A young father is charged for murder and must prove his innocence through recalling a very twisted and dark night of events.
Ahead of an incoming hurricane in 1988, former marine and Vietnam veteran Walter (Nicolas Cage) hires a local handyman named Buddy (Luke Benward) to fix a section of his broken white picket fence. As a new dad, Buddy dutifully tries to provide for his family, with more than a few challenges placed in front of him. Making matters worse, Buddy’s wife Lisa (Emily Marie Palmer), as the primary caregiver, admonishes him to generate some income to pay for a doctor visit. Six months without sex doesn’t help things either.
Walter’s wife Fancy (KaDee Strickland) loathes her husband, who has forgotten their anniversary – perhaps not for the first time. She remarks tactlessly that her daddy’s money paid for the large house the two occupy. Seeking diversion, she dangles her wares brazenly as a temptress up and down the vulnerable Buddy during the afternoon. Scrambling while the rain begins to fall, Buddy struggles in vain to complete the fence repair in time. Trouble compounds when his truck won’t start. Forced to spend the evening away from his lovely but nagging wife, Buddy witnesses Walter and Fancy display their dysfunctional relationship with gusto as they parade throughout their spacious mansion, eyeing each other with suspicion. Ominously in the background, news stories continually broadcast missing person notices. A wild and unpredictable night remains in store for all.
Scenes juxtapose when Kelsey Grammer appears as a skeptical Detective Jones methodically interrogating Buddy in reference to a recent murder the previous day. Behind the one-way mirror, Officer Newton (Zulay Henao) looks on with interest. Buddy’s version of events slowly reveals itself in flashbacks from the night before during the midst of the storm.
As the gale rages on, Walter boards up the windows, pausing periodically to plow down a few drinks. Later he finds a quiet moment to propose an unseemly act by Buddy. Walter asks the dumbfounded young father to administer cyanide to Fancy, claiming she is terminally ill from blood cancer. For $20,000, Buddy can perform a good deed by putting her out of her misery and taking home a solid chunk of change at the same time.
The twisty plot unfolds from there, with the cat and mouse game never quite settling on who is which until the very end. Detective Jones and wife Lisa understandably doubt Buddy’s account until Officer Newton intervenes with fresh evidence. Although a campy performance by Cage makes for great viewing, the finish feels somewhat incongruous from the proceedings leading up to the denouement, which unexpectedly falls a bit flat.
Now playing in select theaters and On-Demand
