Adapted from the writer John Brandon’s eponymous 2008 novel, “Arkansas” intercuts the escapades of a pair of low-level drug couriers with the back story of their mysterious mafia boss. Less a mob thriller than a ruminative drama about a life built around orders and betrayals, the movie takes an unusual perspective on a familiar genre but is weighed down by its dull, uneven pace.
The problems begin right from the film’s verbose opening, in which Kyle (Liam Hemsworth), a drug runner, delivers a voice-over monologue about lacking a “philosophy of life.” There’s a lot more talk after this, as Kyle is dispatched on an interstate errand with a fellow cog-in-the-machine, Swin (the movie’s director, Clark Duke). They’re stopped on the way and taken underwing by John Malkovich’s Ranger Bright — a loathsome minion of the big boss, Frog, whose identity remains a mystery well into the film.
It takes a while for the plot to kick into action, and, once it does, the film weaves back and forth between Frog’s duplicitous rise to the top of a modest Southern drug ring and the mostly foolish antics of Kyle and Swin. There’s a laid-back, mumblecore vibe to the film that might have worked had there been more irony or humor in the script, or more personality in the lead performances. As it stands, “Arkansas” is a drag, and it feels dated, too: Swin’s courtship of a local nurse (Eden Brolin) starts with her calling him out for being persistent and creepy. His response: “Do you like creepy?” Are we really still doing this in 2020?
Arkansas
Rated R for sudden bursts of graphic violence. Running time: 1 hour 57 minutes. Rent or buy on Amazon, iTunes and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators.
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May 07, 2020 at 06:07PM
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