Dir: Jeremy Saulnier
Cast: Aaron Pierre, Don Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, David Denman, Emory Cohen, Steve Zissis, Zsané Jhé, Dana Lee, James Cromwell
Grounded by a star-making performance by Aaron Pierre, Jeremy Saulnier’s slow burn indictment of corrupt small town America is an intelligent and tense action thriller.
A decade or so ago, before we had the likes of Jordan Peele and Denis Villeneuve well established in Hollywood, the industry was crying out for some new blood in an increasingly stale market. One of the several up-and-coming independent filmmakers I had my eye on at the time was Jeremy Saulnier, who burst onto the indie scene in 2013 with his incredibly sombre, yet equally violent, revenge thriller “Blue Ruin”. Having been funded through a Kickstarter campaign, the film’s universal critical acclaim put both Saulnier and his frequent collaborator, and star of the film, Macon Blair, on the map.
A couple years later, Saulnier would go on to write and direct “Green Room”, the second film in what could be his own three-colour trilogy, following the footsteps of iconic filmmakers Krzysztof Kieslowski and Edgar Wright. Focusing on a struggling punk band’s efforts as they try and survive the onslaught from a gang of skinheads, “Green Room” was an incredibly impactful horror thriller focusing, further showcasing Saulnier’s impressive visual style and powerful use of brutal and realistic violence.
Ultimately deciding to not carry on with his colour-themed thrillers, Saulnier’s next directorial release, “Hold the Dark” (2018), saw him handover writing duties to Blair, and despite critical praise for his direction and technical craft, the film was seen as a drop in form for the 48-year old as it was considered less favourable to his previous projects which he penned himself.
Now, a whole six years later, Saulnier has a brand new release, which like “Hold the Dark” is a Netflix original property. Written, directed, produced and edited by Saulnier, “Rebel Ridge” has been a long time coming, having started production in 2020, only to be halted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Production was further delayed in 2021, when original star John Boyega suddenly dropped out of filming for personal reasons. Boyega, a huge star following the success of the most recent “Star Wars” trilogy, was replaced by relatively unknown fellow Brit, Aaron Pierre.
Pierre stars as Terry Richmond, a former U.S. Marine who while on his way to bailing his cousin out of a Louisiana jail, is inexplicably rammed off his bike by the local authorities, solely for being a black man in the Deep South. Terry is subject to an ethically dubious search by the two cops harassing him, who inevitably confiscate the $36,000 required for his cousin’s bail. Understandably, Terry seeks recourse from higher authority, only to be rebuffed by both the court and corrupt local police chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson).
Terry’s only companion in his search for justice is the similarly downtrodden courthouse clerk Summer (AnnaSophia Robb), who is well aware of recent shady dealings between the local police and the courts, but is afraid to speak up given her insider position and past run-ins with the law herself. With Terry’s help, Summer dives deeper into her town’s recent history of questionable search and seizure cases, that has seen the Shelby Springs Police Department somehow continue to operate despite every other local law enforcement operation within the county being shut down in recent years.
As its title suggests, “Rebel Ridge” is heavily inspired by Westerns of old, with Pierre’s reserved but more than capable Terry serving as the outsider protagonist who rides into a small town, only to be met with force by the dishonourable local authoritarian figurehead. There are also strong similarities to 1982’s “First Blood”, with Pierre’s modern day ex-marine standing in for Sylvester Stallone‘s Vietnam war veteran John Rambo, who much like Pierre’s central character, is driven out of a small U.S. town by a not-to hospitable sheriff. Unlike most one-man army thrillers though, “Rebel Ridge” opts to shy away from high octane action sequences that result in countless bodies strewed across the landscape as our seemingly bulletproof hero seeks his vengeance, instead Saulnier conjures up something far more subtle and intelligent.
What begins as a racially fuelled plot for revenge, slowly settles into an exploration of the many ways in which the American legal system can be abused to benefit those in power. It becomes increasingly infuriating to see Pierre’s genuinely humble central character continuously roadblocked in his quest for justice by the police themselves, who hide behind bureaucratic procedures and “legal” standings to prevent them paying the repercussions for their unjust actions. The audiences insight into these uncompromising legal systems is of course Terry, whose loveable tough guy persona is beautifully realised by Pierre in a star-making turn. Boyega is an undeniable talent, and I am sure he would have managed to bring something impressive to the table if he was to continue with this project, but with the film now complete, it is difficult to see how Boyega could match Pierre’s physical presence and calm-yet-threatening demeanour.
Saulnier’s previous projects have relied on the juxtaposition of their picturesque rural surroundings against the harsh reality of the brutal violence that takes place within, however, “Rebel Ridge” remains relatively reserved when it comes to exploitative violence. After all, our lone hero is a honourable guy, who knows harming the police will serve no greater purpose for himself or the community. Instead, he smartly utilises his impressive martial arts skills to subdue the authorities, despite their more aggressive shoot-on-sight mentality towards him. “De-escalation” is regularly mentioned between Terry and Sherriff Burnne, as both parties wish to come out the conflict either physically or reputably unscathed, and it is Terry who refuses to give up the moral high ground regardless of all the morally corrupt obstacles thrown in his way.
While the body count may not match that of a “Rambo” feature or a typical neo-western, “Rebel Ridge” does not shy away from action, thanks to some realistically fresh choreographed set-pieces. Saulnier has proven in the past he can draw out the tension in any given scene and it is this intensity throughout the two-hour runtime that has you gripped through each stand-off or altercation between Terry and Sherriff Burnne’s men. The pacing may be too slow for many, but Saulnier’s slow burn approach is pivotal in amping up the stakes in this relatively small scale thriller.
Saulnier is back on form with his latest effort, and while it may not deliver the shocks or escapism of his earlier works, its subtlety and topical subject matter still packs a powerful punch. Hopefully it has a good run on streaming and Saulnier returns to the director’s chair soon to conclude his three-colour thriller trilogy. As for Aaron Pierre, this surely will act as a launchpad for bigger things, and I look forward to hearing his growly voice replicating that of the late great James Earl Jones in “Mufasa: The Lion King” later this year.
Rebel Ridge is now available to stream on Netflix
Dan Loves Film 
This is an unexpected film that looks terrific…great review as always!
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