Rebel Ridge is an "action-thriller" (though the balance is more weighted to the latter). Set in a small Louisiana town, the story opens with Terry Richmond being harassed by local police. The black former Marine is on his way to the courthouse to post bail for his cousin, and when the police seize his cash, he's put in a very desperate situation. He tries to play by the rules to resolve the matter, but it quickly becomes clear how deep the rot goes in this town, and things escalate.
This movie comes from writer-director Jeremy Saulnier, who got my attention with Green Room and kept it when I backtracked to see Blue Ruin. While not every one of his films wowed me, I feel like I want to check out anything new from him -- and Rebel Ridge rewarded this. Indeed, it's possible this movie played better because I'd seen Green Room; I knew just how far he was willing to take things as a storyteller, which kept me wondering just how far Rebel Ridge would push.
In any case, Rebel Ridge is a wound-up machine, all coiled tension demanding a release. And it makes you wait for that release in the most satisfying way. It serves up a dealer's choice of reasons to back whatever move the protagonist might make -- a cousin he's looking out for, a courthouse clerk who risks her own neck to help, or just how corrupt and disgusting the police are shown to be.
Through it all, star Aaron Pierre portrays his character Terry with impossible calm -- the calm that a black man is forced to adopt in too many situations. But the movie makes clear just how dangerous Terry can be, and makes equally clear that at some point we are going to see that. Pierre is a magnetic presence on camera despite the stillness, and is equally up to starring in the "action movie" that this ultimately becomes.
AnnaSophia Robb plays court clerk Summer, a great foil for our hero who gets to express the emotion that Terry must usually keep bottled up. And Don Johnson plays police chief Sandy Burnne, the most infuriating "good ol' boy" of a villain, who ensures these events will come to a violent end. But the movie has a solid cast throughout, including another strong villainous performance from Emory Cohen, and a potent scene with James Cromwell.
Rebel Ridge is a movie with a lot to say -- about racism, poverty, and the practice of civil forfeiture. But even while making its message abundantly clear, it is foremost a tense thriller and entertaining action film. I give it an A-, and a slot at #4 on my Top Movies of 2024 list.
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