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April 01, 2015 Reviews

Cut Bank
watch
trailer
★★★★★

Cut Bank

by Charles Bramesco

The Reveal furthers the discussion of the film while providing a space for readers who have seen it to discuss plot-sensitive details. In other words: Spoilers ahead. Avoiding spoilers? Return to the review.

Cut Bank has twists aplenty, though few of them really sneak up on the audience. The trailer breaks the first big one, that Dwayne and Dern’s mailman, Georgie, were in cahoots to fake the incriminating video. When it seems that Cassandra’s dear old dad (Billy Bob Thornton) has been murdered, Shakman informs the audience otherwise with a quick-enough-to-miss shot of the man’s allegedly dead body blinking once. When Derby is shown to be a skilled taxidermist in an early scene, that’s a big fat hint that something deeply unsavory is going down in the near future. (Why are there no normal, friendly, non-insane taxidermists in movies?) But even so, that’s no preparation for the insane sucker punch in the third act. When Derby zones out while staring at an old advertisement, it’s not because he’s charmed by the kitschy graphic design. It’s because it reminds him of the preserved human bodies he has set up in his basement, like some kind of museum exhibit on post-war Americana, as curated by Buffalo Bill from Silence Of The Lambs. It’s a totally bonkers twist that Shakman drops on the audience late in the game, far past the point of establishing that Cut Bank isn’t the sort of movie where things like this happen. That’s the real problem— Derby’s human playthings definitely make the end memorable, but they have no place in Cut Bank or Cut Bank. 

★★★★★
R

93 min / Run Time

April 03 2015 / Release Date

Thriller / genre

Theatrical Release / format

Director:

  • Matt Shakman

Writer:

  • Roberto Patino

Cast:

  • Liam Hemsworth
  • Billy Bob Thornton
  • John Malkovich
  • Bruce Dern
  • Oliver Platt

company:

  • A24
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