FILM REVIEW
NORMAL
Rated R
91 Minutes
Released April 17th
Wow! This is one of those movies that will play repeatedly in your memory. It starts with a bang, it pulls you in, and the characters draw you closer every minute – all that within one of the most bizarre setups and storylines ever. It’s set in the town of Normal, Minnesota, population 1,890, during the middle of a frigid winter. A new “substitute” sheriff, played by Bob Odenkirk, arrives and gradually discovers that what appears on the surface to be a sleepy, peaceful community has weapons and bombs stored randomly in the most unlikely places.
The heartbeat of this film is the humanity of the people in it, and the almost musical tone of the comedy that runs through what presents as a violent action film. Yes, things blow up, people are gruesomely mangled, shot, and knifed, but the undercurrent that’s established from the beginning is a disassociation from reality. It’s a smoothly moving saga for an action movie. Each scene flows into the next, and passages with huge emotional impact are well-orchestrated, followed with smoother, calmer moments. There are so many truly imaginative and original scenes.
This is a work as you would imagine Shakespeare would have created if he lived in our time (and of course, he would be a filmmaker) The film contains a lot of carnage, but it’s a hilarious send-up of those movies where a whole city and all its buildings and vehicles are violently destroyed, and you, the audience, are wondering how the city leaders are ever going to build it back. But don’t we love seeing things blown up?
In Normal, the town stays intact. The colorful, imperfect, sincere characters lead you through the tale. Each one has a fully developed backstory that you may not know the details of, but you can sense it. There’s Mayor Kibner, played by Henry Winkler, who has a laissez-faire approach to governing. Reena Jolly and Brendan Fletcher are fledgling bank robbers, new to the profession and making every mistake in the “Book of Bank Robbery.”
There is a moose with a paint can stuck on its antler that appears from time to time like an omen or apparition, meaningful because in real life, moose are very difficult to spot due to their stillness and shyness. Jess McLeod is a standout as the daughter of the recently deceased sheriff of the town. She’s mourning her father but defiant, a sexual force of energy, the smartest person in every room, and impossible to categorize. She is magnetic and will lead you to question what is normal (note play on words), and Lena Headey, whom you may remember as “Cersei Lannister” in Game of Thrones, is the town’s equalizer, a modern-day Greek soothsayer. She knows where the bodies are buried.
Bob Odenkirk is absolutely brilliant in the role of “Sheriff Ulysses.” He’s the classic good guy dropped into a hornet’s nest of bad guys, an imperfect man with a dark event in his past, who is a born leader yet also humble, and has the sense of humor and persuasive nature that will carry him through hard times. In one scene, he succeeds in locking someone willingly into a jail cell without any use of force.
Odenkirk carries this film on his shoulders as writer, producer, as well as star. He and director Ben Wheatley have turned in a thought-provoking movie disguised as an audience-pleaser, with a philosophical journey into human nature that catches you by surprise. Odenkirk has achieved a mastery of comedic storytelling forged by persistence, experience, and hard work. He grew up with an alcoholic dad, became a DJ at a college radio station, and then performed open mic stand-up. A friend helped him get a job writing for Saturday Night Live from 1987-1995. If you see the movie Lorne, that’s out now, you will understand that SNL was cutting-edge training for a writer. Odenkirk went on to write for many other shows, including The Ben Stiller Show and Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and do sketch comedy on TV. Even so, he was his finances were shaky due to the unstable nature of the entertainment business. Then came his big break as an actor, 43 episodes of Breaking Bad as “Saul Goodman” from 2009-2013, and reprising that character on Better Call Saul in 2015.
Normal is a darkly and deadly humorous send-up of violence, sexual discrimination, gender bias, and the brutalizing use of power. It seems like a twisted, crazy, fun movie, but in the end, it will make you question a lot of things. Even the bad guys are maybe not so bad. Their boss is such a horrendous human being that you feel for them, and they are comedic underneath their villainous facades.
And, oh! One thing I love about this movie is they did not forget that the dog was locked in the car in the freezing snowstorm, and they returned to rescue it from certain death. So many movies leave something or someone relatively minor behind and never return, leaving you to ask at the end, “But what happened to…?”
Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@gmail.com.
