Camryn Manheim | Through the Shattered Lens

Recently, I was sitting on the back deck of my parents’ house visiting with my family. Of course, when I’m around movies are always a topic of conversation, and my sister brought up the fact that she had just watched AN UNFINISHED LIFE and really liked it. My sister has always loved Robert Redford, and when she brought him up, it was fun hearing my mom get on her case about her long-ago recommendation of UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL, that came without the appropriate warning of the movie’s tearjerker of an ending. That’s a no-no with my mom, and we all had a good laugh. When my wife and I got home, we were browsing the Paramount Plus streaming service, and lo and behold, there was AN UNFINISHED LIFE, so it just seemed like the right time to watch it!

The movie centers in on Einar Gilkyson (Redford), a Wyoming rancher who still hasn’t properly dealt with the death of his son about a decade earlier. He blames his daughter-in-law Jean (Jennifer Lopez) for the accident that killed him. When Jean shows up at his ranch, because she’s on the run from her abusive boyfriend Gary (Damian Lewis), Einar tells her that he doesn’t want her there. His heart softens though as she introduces him to Griff (Becca Gardner), the granddaughter that he never knew he had. This sounds like a setup for big-time melodrama, but director Lasse Hallstrom is able to keep things somewhat grounded as we watch this broken family attempt to reconnect.

It’s time for a confession… I’ve never been the biggest fan of Robert Redford. Now don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean that I don’t like him. It’s just that he’s so perfect, maybe too perfect?! My favorite actors are not perfect looking human beings, but they do have an undeniable charisma and screen presence. Actors like Charles Bronson, Roy Scheider, and James Woods immediately come to mind. As such, I’ve never made it a priority to watch all of Redford’s movies, although I’ve watched most of his best at some point in my life. I will say that I think he’s excellent in AN UNFINISHED LIFE. He’s still undeniably “Redford,” but age has a way of evening up the playing field, and this performance relies on his ability to embody a character slowly opening his heart after years of shutting himself off. His scenes with his granddaughter are especially strong, without seeming excessively manipulative. I may look more closely into his later career based on his work here.

I’m also not the biggest fan of Jennifer Lopez. I loved her in SELENA, the film that kickstarted her career, but other than OUT OF SIGHT and ANACONDA, I haven’t enjoyed much else in her filmography. With that said, I think she’s good here. Her character has made one bad decision after another since her husband died, but I can’t help but root for her to find some happiness. In real life, it would have taken a lot of courage to ask someone like Einar for help, and I do appreciate that she’s willing to humble herself for her daughter’s sake.

Have I mentioned that Morgan Freeman is also in the film in the role of Mitch Bradley, Einar’s injured ranch hand and closest friend? He brings his warmth and wisdom to the proceedings even though his character’s unique storyline, which revolves around being mauled by a bear, doesn’t always work. The characters played by Damian Lewis and Josh Lucas also don’t land that strongly. Lewis is Lopez’s abusive boyfriend, but his awful behavior is ultimately dealt with in a way that’s more cartoonish than you might expect in a serious drama. Lucas, who was born in my home state of Arkansas, is fine here as “Crane” Curtis, but he doesn’t have that much to do.

The Wyoming setting for our story is beautiful, but it was actually filmed in British Columbia. My wife spent 18 years of her life in Wyoming, and it’s generally not as green as the “Wyoming” presented here. That’s just a minor nitpick, because for the uninitiated, the setting is beautiful and makes you feel like you’re part of a modern day western. There’s just something romantic and comforting about that, and the wide-open spaces seem to offer endless chances for a new beginning.

Overall, while I don’t think AN UNFINISHED LIFE is a great movie, I enjoyed watching it. It’s a movie that understands the importance of forgiveness by showing us wounded characters who are willing to open themselves up to imperfect people who are just trying to be better. At the end of the day, if any of us want meaningful connections to the people in our lives, we’d better be willing to do the same.

Cop Car opens with two young boys, Travis (James Freedson-Jackson) and Harrison (Hays Wellford) walking through a field. Over the course of the film, we really don’t learn that much about either Travis or Harrison. They speak in the tones and accent of childhood and the trailer park. They’re just two ordinary kids, who appear to be bored out of their mind and who can blame them because it appears that they live out in the middle of nowhere.

And then, suddenly, their boredom ends.

They comes across a deserted cop car sitting in the middle of the wilderness. After a successive number of dares, they end up inside of the car. And then, they discover that the keys are still in the car as well. Soon, Harrison and Travis are taking turns driving the car, roaring down the highway, nearly running an irate motorist (Camryn Manheim) off the road and basically having a great time.

What the kids don’t know is that the cop car belonged to Sheriff Kretzer (Kevin Bacon), a grim-faced lawman who isn’t going to allow two little kids to make a fool out of him. Even while Harrison and Travis are playing around in the car, Kretzer is pursuing them. Along the way, Kretzer is reduced to stealing a truck, gets stopped for speeding, and basically sacrifices any ounce of personal dignity that he may have. Along the way, cars crash and cows are nearly run over.

And it all sounds like the making of a comedy, doesn’t it? Just from reading the plot description, you might be justified in thinking that Cop Car is a white trash version of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Well, make no mistake. Cop Car has its funny moments but it is definitely not a comedy. Sheriff Kretzer may occasionally be a bit of a bumbling adversary but he is no Principal Rooney. Instead, Kretzer is a vicious and effective killer.

The reason Kretzer was away from his car is that he was busy burying a body in the woods. And what the kids don’t realize, at first, is that there’s another body in the trunk of the car. Kretzer is determined to get back his cop car and he’s willing to kill the boys to do it. Even worse, Kretzer’s badge and uniform give him both the ability and the authority to do so.

There’s one particularly effective scene where Harrison and Travis playing with the weapons that Kretzer left in the car is juxtaposed with Kretzer pouring a baggie of cocaine into a toilet. But, at the same time, I almost wish that the whole drug dealing subplot had been left out of the film. When we first meet Kretzer, he’s scary precisely because his motives are unknowable. He’s an authoritarian with a badge, and a bad mustache. The more specific the film gets about Kretzer’s motivations, the less interesting he becomes. Imagine if Kretzer has simply been an unstoppable force of wounded machismo, motivated by nothing more than his belief that his law is the only law that matters. By making Kretzer a criminal as well as a cop, Cop Car dilutes its otherwise strong critique of the pro-authoritarian strain that currently runs through American culture.

As a thriller and chase film, Cop Car works pretty well, though the first half is significantly better than the second. (The second half gets a little bogged down with the man in the trunk.) Director Jon Watts keeps the film moving at a good pace and he shows that he knows how to generate suspense. There’s a lengthy and narratively risky scene where Kretzer repeatedly tries and fails to pick a lock but the scene pays off in the end and Watts deserves some credit for having faith in the patience of his audience.

But really, Cop Car works largely because Kevin Bacon has become a national treasure. It’s always fun to watch him throw himself into playing off-center roles like Sheriff Kretzer. Bacon is smart enough to play up Kretzer’s stupidity without ever downplaying his dangerous and cunning nature. It’s a great performance in a pretty good film.