Escape from Darwin (2008)
Outside the forgotten desert mining town of Darwin, getaway driver Chooch O'Grady is stranded with a busted car and a bag of stolen cash. He's picked up by J.T., a predatory psychopath who murders Chooch and abruptly disposes of the body, leaving signs on the trail. J.T. and his meth-addicted boss, Archie, butt heads over the incident, but the real tension lies with Archie's girlfriend, Rebecca O'Grady. Her affair with J.T. contains false hope that he would be her ticket to freedom. Chooch's murder is all but forgotten until a quiet Stranger shows up looking for the money. Before he can leave behind the isolation that is Darwin, the Stranger must navigate the bizarre ghost town and bring its outlaw inhabitants to justice.
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A different way of telling a story
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.
The plot is quite novel and the cinematography is decent however, the acting from most of the cast ranges from 'wooden' to 'over the top'.'Archie', the sociopathic, long-haired lout is quite ridiculous and not at all convincing! His 'over the top' portrayal of the gang leader is, in my humble opinion, just laughable, as are the two 'Men in Black'.'Crackhead Joe' was a half decent performance but, considering he was supposed to be of Native American decent, he must have hailed from Quebec as I'm sure he had a French accent.The constant use of the word 'stranger' was reminiscent of 'B' westerns from the 50's and 60's. I started to count the number of times it was used but got fed-up by the time it reached c.20.I watched it right to the end only to see if it improved or had a twist in the ending. Nope!Don't waste 84 minutes.
Reminiscent of the old Sergio Leone "spaghetti westerns", combined with a post-modern "Tarantino" flair, Escape From Darwin is an action packed shoot-out. Criste and Justin Talley capture the empty and arid landscape of Death Valley beautifully!!!All performances were solid - a testament to Criste's direction. The stoic performances of the mysterious underworld crime bosses kept the audience guessing on their identities. Joelson Kuerten as "crack head Joe", however, steals the show with his grounded comic twist on the "ugly" caught between the "good" and the "bad". The original score by Barry Neely ties the film together wonderfully. This low-budget indie will fool you with it's excellent overall production value.
...toughest and meanest.This film takes place in the present but borrows story templates from old Westerns. There's a beautiful blonde held captive by a hair-trigger, gang leader.Before her brother can rescue her, he's shot.Her only way out is an arrogant psychopath who's an underling in the gang. She has to decide between family loyalty and survival.It's a midnight movie with humor as well as raw violence. It stands out because it combines modern crime story with a western and has overtones of literary naturalism.