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 (051026)
Normal is a passable but unremarkable police thriller filled with brutal
violence and a few moments of unexpected comedy. It is about a substitute
police officer who gets in trouble when he discovers shocking corruption in a
seemingly regular small town named Normal, hence the title. This basic concept
was explored much more effectively and less violently in the Twin Peaks TV show
and in many other films. The reluctant, passive hero who uses violence only as a
last resort when his back is to the wall plot motif was used more effectively in
Straw Dogs, A History of Violence, and a million episodes of the original
Incredible Hulk show.
Normal was directed by Ben Wheatley, an English filmmaker whose career has been
somewhat erratic and uneven. His work ranges from the well-received Down Terrace
(2009) to the critically lambasted shark thriller franchise film, Meg 2: The
Trench (2023).
The script for Normal, which has its share of problems, was written by Derek
Kolstad from a story by Kolstad and the films star Bob Odenkirk. Best known for creating the John Wick movie series featuring Keanu
Reeves, Derek also did Nobody (2021) and the follow-up film, Nobody 2 (2021),
both of which also used Odenkirk as the lead actor.
The film has a fairly strong cast. Odenkirk, who played the same shady lawyer
character in two highly acclaimed USA Network streaming shows: Breaking Bad
(2009-2013) and the follow-up Better Call Saul (2015-2022). His Jimmy McGill
character is almost as iconic there as Archie Bunker’s in All in the Family or
Andy Sipowicz from NYPD Blue. He was great in those movies and shows, playing in
each everyman-down-on-his-luck characters who seem to be at the mercy of fate,
always conspiring against him. Here, he has been totally miscast, lacking not
only the proper look but also the attitude of an action hero. Someone like Jason
Statham, who was in Working Man or The Bee Keeper, or the actor who plays the
current Punisher, Jon Bernthal, would have been better in the role.
The main supporting roles are played by Lena Headley (Game of Thrones), Reena
from A Taste of Murder and Channel Zero. Most surprisingly, Henry Winkler
(Children’s Hospital, Night Shift, Scream, but forever remembered as Fonzie from
the Happy Days TV series of the ‘70’s) who plays the town's jaded, corrupt
mayor. It’s great to see Winkler in a new “anti-Fonz” role, but he is mostly
wasted here, and his character prematurely disappears.
The film starts out with an effective but misleading opening. We hear a Japanese
version of Black Sabbath’s heavy metal classic, Paranoid and we see a subtitled
scene in Japan in which the yakuza basically torture a trio of hitmen for
failing (they must cut off their fingers to escape execution). Audiences can be
forgiven for suspecting they accidentally stepped into an Asian action
film-that’s what I thought.
Ulysses Richardson (Odenkirk) is a basically good, mild-mannered cop who is
estranged from his wife because of the strain of the job. We’ve seen it all
before. He gets a job in a small Minnesota town, and the local police expect
“he will not rock the apple cart.” But some things feel way off about the town
right away. For one thing, everyone has tons of guns, which is excessive even
for a small conservative town. But some of these are sophisticated, expensive
weapons, and the police station is as well armed as a military installation.
This does not add up because the town is mostly calm and crime-free, and the
police often have very little to do. The locals try to waste the cops’ time on
trivialities, and one elderly woman even expects a cop to handle it when she
gets the wrong color of clothing in the mail, as if it’s a high crime.
Then, one day, a violent incident occurs that turns all of Ulysses’
preconceptions of the town upside down. Ulysses stumbles upon a small-time bank
robbery, and the two robbers are among the nicest and least threatening thieves
imaginable, and one of them looks and acts as gentle as the ’90s pop singer,
Tracey Chapman. But when he calls for reinforcements, the cops unexpectedly
shoot at him. This forces him to join forces with the sympathetic thieves. It
all leads to a high-energy gun duel between the town and the yakuza from the
opening, so tense and exciting that it almost redeems the film.
But the film has too many flaws. I have a high threshold for gore if it is shot
creatively or serves a good reason in the story. But much of it seems
gratuitous and mindless here. Do we really need to see a head explode or a
needle being plunged into an eye or eyes being gouged out in a standard cop
film? Also, Odenkirk’s character is supposed to be a lazy, laid-back cop who is
out of shape. But when things go bad, he comes off like a super soldier or
mutant when he takes on a whole town. It all could have worked better if he had
thought his way out of situations rather than fighting his way out. Although the
film is exciting and competent, very little of the action is believable.
This film could have been great if it had been made by Quentin Tarantino, Robert
Rodriguez, Guy Ritchie, or the Coen brothers. But the director here never finds
the right tone. The film plays the action straight, which doesn't work because
it's neither campy enough to be comedic nor realistic enough to be convincing.
Or the film might have worked better if the main character used his brains to
outwit the thugs, like in Straw Dogs, High Noon or any of the Clint
Eastwood "Spaghetti Westerns". All featured a hero who did more thinking than punching to overcome
seemingly overwhelming odds. But this rarely happens here, and he relies on brawn and
ammunition rather than brains.
This does not mean the film lacks some good moments; it is not a total wash. You
can’t help but like and root for the title character, and the film could provide
a moderately good time for action fans who don’t think too much. But I can’t
really recommend that anyone rush off to a theater and purchase a full-price
ticket to see it.
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