Cop Car

2015 drama

Rating: 15/20

Plot: Young runaways stumble upon a cop car and decide to take it for a spin. The sheriff tries to find it.

This feels like Coen Brothers lite, but here, that's not necessarily a bad thing at all. I think what I liked best, other than the sneaky humor, is how much space it gives the story to breathe. Honestly, there's not a great deal of story here. You've got a handful of characters, all with unclear motivations, and not much happens until it all happens at once. It's a narrative that neither starts or finishes, just a collection of happenings that capture this Coen-esque off-kilter conflict that feels tragic in a way that is distinctly American. I suppose the final five minutes won't satisfy a lot of people who check this out, but I loved it.

I also loved Kevin Bacon here. There's this odd physicality to the character and combined with a pervy mustache, you just know there's something off about the character from the start. Like all the other characters, there's not really enough development to make the character really stick, but it's an antagonist who's fun to watch because it seems like Bacon's having fun playing him.

I also liked the music in this and the atmosphere created by the imagery. It felt a lot like Breaking Bad at times, especially a key scene with a windmill sound effect. The dialogue's fine when it's there, but it's the extended moments of silence where this really shines.