One of the unsung genre gems at this year’s TIFF was Ben Wheatley’s Normal, which is a shockingly fun movie even if it might feel like you’ve seen it before in the past. That’s because Wheatley’s working with Derek Kolstad, best known for co-creating John Wick and writing Nobody, and Bob Odenkirk, who kicked loads of ass in the lead role of the latter work. This time, he’s a small-town substitute sheriff who finds himself embroiled in an international conspiracy that, somehow, is at the heart of his small Midwestern town’s government. We can certify that it is a Good Time at the Movies, and we are hyped for you to check it out. Magnolia Pictures dropped a trailer for it this week, and we’ve got great news for you Boston locals — not only will you get a chance to see it early, but you’ll get to see it with Bob Odenkirk in attendance. Deets below.
Peep it:
Here’s a nice synopsis for Normal from the TIFF50 program:
“Director Ben Wheatley and ‘John Wick’ creator Derek Kolstad pit a provisional sheriff (Bob Odenkirk) against his constituents when the exposure of a small town’s sordid secret sparks a rip-roaring firefight.
For Sheriff Ulysses (Bob Odenkirk), his provisional posting to the quaint Midwestern American town of Normal was meant to be a welcome respite from both his marital woes and recent moral injuries in the line of duty. But when a botched bank robbery interrupts the municipality’s tranquil pace, a sordid secret is inadvertently exposed and Ulysses learns that the town is anything but its namesake. Suddenly everyone is trying to shoot the sheriff, even his own deputies, and our put-upon policeman must rely on his affable mettle and some motley crooks if he is to survive the night.
Little time is wasted in chambering the quirky players of director Ben Wheatley’s homespun shoot-em-up, based on a story by Odenkirk and screenwriter Derek Kolstad (‘John Wick’). Its first gunshot rings out like a starter pistol to a rip-roaring turkey shoot as Odenkirk thrillingly evades and explodes a lively ensemble of bloodthirsty constituents, demonstrating his effortless prowess at playing a cordial badass (see ‘Nobody,’ also written by Kolstad). Among the heavies and heels are wickedly fun turns from Lena Headey to Henry Winkler — not to mention a host of Canucks — but I haven’t even mentioned how the Yakuza figure into all of this. And believe me, they do.
Further colliding the folksy darkness of ‘Fargo’ with the conspiratorial bedlam of ‘Hot Fuzz,’ as well as invoking the taut firefights of Wheatley’s own ‘Free Fire’ (recipient of the 2016 Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award), ‘Normal’ is a double-barrelled shotgun blast of bloody mayhem that sizzles with the splendour of a lit stick of dynamite. Brace for its booms!“
For you locals, you’ll get your chance to see Normal on March 18, when it screens at the Brattle as the Opening Night feature for the Boston Underground Film Festival. You can grab passes and check out the other screenings announced (so far) at this link. Everybody else has to wait until April 17. Boo-hoo.