Once in a while a film comes along that reminds us why we adore the medium. It combines music, imagery and stellar acting to take us away from the day-to-day issues of life and puts its firmly in another time and place for two hours of bombastic bliss. Free Fire is one of those pieces of hold on to your seat art.
The ensemble cast is led by Sharlto Copley, Brie Larson, Sam Riley, Cillian Murphy and Armie Hammer. They are a part of two groups, one who are selling a mass of guns and the other who are buying them. Things start to go south when a member of one gang recognizes an individual from the other gang from the night before and recalls how they did something quite nasty. Before long, our gangs have scattered across a deserted warehouse, bullets are flying and for a couple of hours it remains a mystery who will survive and who will perish on this day in 1978 Boston.
Ben Wheatley directed and co-wrote the script and what he has done is crafted a tight-knit shoot-’em-out that manages to say a lot about the human condition through a collection of souls who dabble in the dark side of things.
There is rich dialogue among the storm of bullets that gives each character a fullness not normally seen in this genre. We keenly know each one of these people during the firefight that allows us to connect to them at their core and know their motivations, their emotions and even a bit of where they came from before this fateful night. It is so refreshing to have a movie not just be violent for the sake of violence. Free Fire is violent, yes, but it is because it is putting a spotlight on violent people. It does not mean that these people are any less educated or capable of carrying on a higher brow conversation about why up is up and how down is down in their world. Something brought these people together on this day and our enjoyment as the audience is to watch them come to grips with how their fate has crashed into a suddenly urgent reality.
One can see why Wheatley got a cast of this caliber. To deliver lines like these, in such an enigmatic environment, is the goal of any actor or actress. Oscar winner Larson is a prime example. She scores an Academy Award for her work in Room. Then, she becomes Captain Marvel and scores her own comic book movie! Yet, she leaps at the chance to appear in what is essentially an independent gun battle movie that shoots in England with an indie director. Why? The material, that is why. And she helps elevate it. As she is crawling across the warehouse floor, a couple of bullet wounds to her body, Larson delivers dramatic lines with an urgency and powerful panache that pulls the audience in and engages us to the material, even more than we would have normally because of rich beginnings on the page.
Copley has always been one of those actors whose work we enjoy. From District 9 on, the South African has dazzled us with his unique screen presence. He was born to play Vernon in Free Fire. This is a flashy guy who deals in weapons. Not exactly the most compassionate character. Yet, in the hands of the actor we revel in every frame he inhabits and yes, even hope he is one who makes it to the end of this day still breathing. That’s not an easy task for an actor, but again in the hands of a talented thespian such as Copley, it appears effortless — of course, we know it is anything but.
We highlight two of the actors, but the entire ensemble is terrific. Riley nails a Boston accent and delivers most of the film’s humor, which is a surprise. His career thus far has not necessarily indicated that is something we expect from the Brit. But again, talent rises when presented with prose and a premise worthy of their expertise. That is what everyone brings to the table with Free Fire.
Wheatley as a director also has grown immensely. It is a dazzling lesson in filmmaking where each gun shot counts. There are hundreds of shots, sure, but each one is so deliberate and delivered in such a way that it moves the plot forward. It is stunning. And his use of music and score is impeccable. Let’s just say you will never hear John Denver the same way again.
With his latest feature, Wheatley has found a crackling and incendiary way to showcase characters caught in a crossfire with each believing they are on the right side of this battle, only to have their ego and bravado be the thing that brings them ever closer to their demise. It is a sensational study in a character development told through visceral violence. We cannot wait to see where the filmmaker goes from here.
Grade: A