Review: ‘Big Muddy’ is mired by a single flaw (Includes first-hand account)
It’s easy to cross the line from just getting by to greed. The grind of having to repeatedly work/hustle/rob just to make ends meet becomes tiring; especially when an end is within view. Of course retirement is dependent on one last, big score. The burden of possibility is more than some can bear and it causes them to be reckless. Such is the case in Big Muddy when everything that could go wrong does.
Living in a small town where gambling is more of a way of life than an epidemic, Martha (Nadia Litz) and her boyfriend Tommy (Rossif Sutherland) tag-team unsuspecting men who’ve come into recent winnings to rob them of their prize. Her nearly-adult son Andy (Justin Kelly) spends his allowance at the track and turns his attention to a young woman who cares for one of the horses once it’s exhausted. Suddenly, an ill-conceived plan puts them in a stand-off with Buford Carver (James Le Gros), one of Martha’s former flames who blew back into town to flaunt his newfound success. Now Martha and Andy are on the run, hiding from her very angry ex who wants vengeance and his money. And on top of everything else, another man, Donovan Fournier (David La Haye), with whom Martha has history has broken out of prison and is hiding in the same little hamlet. It’s only a matter of time before they converge and all hell breaks loose.
This is a cross between a film noir and a Western. Martha is undoubtedly a femme fatale with men clamouring to be with her and do her bidding. But like most men who enter the archetype’s web, they are all doomed to suffer terrible fates. The one difference here is Martha is not always pulling the strings, spending at least part of the movie simply reacting to the cards she’s been dealt. The Western aspect is seen in the picture’s ruggedness and gunplay. Rather than a suave city setting, the action takes place around horse stables, desert roads and ranches in western Canada. Martha’s father (Stephen McHattie) is the chief representative of this genre.
These two styles are combined rather effortlessly by first-time director Jefferson Moneo, constructing a film that uses the more enticing elements of both. La Haye’s Quebecois con is one of the most interesting characters because he maintains a sense of mystery for much of the narrative. McHattie is a gem in the dust, shining in every scene he occupies. And Le Gros is convincing as the offended crook who demands retribution. Unfortunately the movie is flawed by the miscasting of Martha — Litz simply doesn’t exhibit any of the magnetism required by her character, which weighs heavily on the rest of the picture.
Director: Jefferson Moneo
Starring: Nadia Litz, Justin Kelly and David La Haye
