Rolling Thunder -
Fans of
John Wick as well as action and horror movies like it need to check out this entry that likely inspired them. Just be warned it is a lot less fantastical. This is another heart wrenching study by Paul Schrader (who co-wrote) of Vietnam veterans returning home feeling like they had been chewed up and spit out. It would not be wrong to describe it as "
Taxi Driver in the Heartland," in other words.
I've only seen William Devane in
24, whose performance I enjoyed on that show even though I found him a bit cold and hard to read. Those aspects work in his favor here since Major Charles Rane tries his best to be grateful for the warm reception, gifts and affection of man-in-uniform admirer Linda (Linda Haynes) he receives upon returning to good ol' "San Anton'," but he can only mask his emptiness for so long. Schrader and company couldn't have made his mental state more justified given that his wife is seeing another man and his son was just starting to walk before boarding the plane. If you're starting to think this is not the popcorn flick that
John Wick is, you would be right, especially since there are fewer action scenes. The ones it has hit hard, though, and they're not only fueled by a desire for justice, but also come from a real place. I will not soon forget Haynes' work for how convincing she makes Linda's desire to find a good man and how she provides a reason for Charles to rethink his revenge plans. A young Tommy Lee Jones also shines as Johnny, Rane's military buddy who thinks he has readjusted to civilian life - at least better than Rane has - but who may be kidding himself.
Not to count out director John Flynn and co-writer Heywood Gould, whose other work I will explore, but I must once again credit Schrader for crafting yet another great story of a broken man who is not sure how to solve his problems. While I love the
John Wick franchise,
Nobody, et al, it is nice to see an entry call into question the belief that their only solution lies at the end of a gun. Again, there are fewer action scenes, but in this now subgenre's fashion, it does save the best one for last. Just be prepared to do something you might not always do when it's over: stare at the screen until all the end credits go by.
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