The Cutlass Review

The Cutlass starts out fine telling a story of this lady that's living out in this remote town where things just aren't going forward in her life. This is then split by an individual that's known in the area for causing problems. The two connect as Al (Arnold Goindhan) is attempting his latest way to get money since he owes a fair bit to the wrong people.

This issue is going to be fixed by performing a robbery and almost killing some folks at a party. Joanna (Lisa-Bel Hirschmann) is the young lady that ends up getting taken hostage from that event. From there the two do share some minor bits of chemistry as they sit around chatting about things.

It's a quiet and really slow film that goes along in a predictable format. It's nothing too crazy and really not that exciting with the trademark attempts at escape being presented yet minimal. I didn't find that the acting was anything amazing with many times where they did connect in a satisfying way. Some elements felt forced during their discussion as well as the rest of the plot. It just didn't have anything too compelling to keep the viewing exciting.

The scenery was decent yet minimal and intimate taking place largely within a shack. The shots are alright for the most part and nothing special the rest of the time. With the story being entirely focused on just two characters there needs to be something enticing going on.

It's easier to balance a large group and much harder to make a small setting like this work. The two were alright though like much of the film it didn't connect and didn't feel as though it was well performed.

The Conclusion

It's difficult to write about The Cutlass considering there wasn't much that happened and it was all a very small intimate setting. You either entirely nail a two person battle of wits or you don't, the latter was clear here.

The acting was hit or miss and I felt there could have been something more exciting for them to do with this narrative. It feels so typical that it comes across a lazy and generic.

Some of the shots within the area were pleasant to look at, yet most of it was either at night in a shack or during the day in that same shack. You didn't feel much chill aside from a man that was bordering on the crazy yet never quite there and at the same time not particularly clever or well thought out.

The Cutlass Review at Home with Streamed Viewing
Screening Provided by October Coast Publicity

Rating Overall: 3.5