Willem Defoe is superb in this Schrader-patented character study on a drifter trying to get back in alignment with life, this time about a mild-mannered drug dealer reconciling his past with the possibility that he could become a good man. It starts off innocuously, with a focus on character and unadorned style, with thriller elements coming later. Susan Sarandon is great as always as the head drug honcho thinking about pivoting into skincare products. It’s completely in line with Schrader’s “man with low social capital and psychological issues tries to do something about it” movies from before (Taxi Driver) and after this (The Card Counter and Master Gardener).
Willem Defoe is superb in this Schrader-patented character study on a drifter trying to get back in alignment with life, this time about a mild-mannered drug dealer reconciling his past with the possibility that he could become a good man. It starts off innocuously, with a focus on character and unadorned style, with thriller elements coming later. Susan Sarandon is great as always as the head drug honcho thinking about pivoting into skincare products. It’s completely in line with Schrader’s “man with low social capital and psychological issues tries to do something about it” movies from before (Taxi Driver) and after this (The Card Counter and Master Gardener).
