Review: Red (2008) *** 1/2

Brian Cox in Red

Brian Cox (Rushmore, Zodiac) is Avery Ludlow, a quiet, sensible man living alone with his old dog Red in a big, out of the way house in rural Oregon. The film begins more than a decade after the tragic loss of his wife and son and Avery has mostly put his life back together. Still wounded but unbroken, he spends much of his time either tending the small general store he owns or out fishing by the lake with Red by his side; two old men living out their days in peace and quiet.

However, one of their tranquil fishing afternoons is interrupted when three boys emerge from the nearby woods, one of them carrying a shotgun. Avery indulges them with small talk, but the boys mean trouble and Avery knows it. The unspoken tension escalates until finally the boy with the shotgun demands money. When the old man explains that he has none, the boy’s taste for robbery is denied. Out of pure spite, he shoots the defenseless Red, killing him.

It turns out that Red was more than just a dog. He was a gift from Avery’s wife and his last real attachment to her. The dog’s senseless death exposes old wounds and recalls the circumstances surrounding the tragic loss of his family. Seeking justice and an understanding of the darkness that lurks within the human soul, a darkness that has now visited tragedy upon him twice, he tracks the boys down. Of course, they refuse to admit what they did and when their wealthy father (Tom Sizemore) refuses to believe the story, Avery threatens to take the matter to the sheriff. Unfortunately, as far as the law is concerned, an animal is just property and the stiffest punishment the boys could receive is 10 days in jail and a $100 fine.

Failed by the justice system and unable to get the satisfaction of an apology or even an admission of guilt, Avery instead seeks vengeance. His anger building slowly as each avenue of justice is closed off to him, he ultimately finds himself in danger of becoming as big of a monster as the boy who murdered Red.

Based on a novel by Jack Ketchum (The Girl Next Door), Red is not your typical Hollywood thriller. It’s a low budget, low frills revenge picture that would’ve felt at home in a rural drive-in in the 1970s. Stripped of a big budget and the attendant focus group mandated layers of gloss, it has been pared down to the emotional bone and, unlike so many overproduced Hollywood exercises, it burns a little bit going down.

That’s not to say it’s a perfect movie, nor is it for all tastes. The low budget is at times a hindrance as much as a help and the story occasionally nuzzles up against TV movie-of-the-week territory. That it manages to keep from crossing that line is attributable to the lead performance by Brian Cox. Here’s an actor whose juiciest roles are all too often his smallest, but as Avery he’s given a chance to carry the movie and he makes the most of it. Instantly likeable and relatable, his journey from peaceful man to vengeful demon is played just right. He never loses your sympathy despite a plot climax that threatens to send the film off the rails. Cox keeps the film grounded, he keeps it human and he keeps you thinking about it for days afterward.

Besides Cox, the solid supporting cast is excellent as well. A sneering Noel Fisher is creepily effective as the rich kid hooligan Danny and Kyle Gallner is also good as his more sensitive brother Harold. As the parents of the third boy, Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street) and Amanda Plummer (The Fisher King) manage to keep their characters from becoming cartoons. They live on the poor side of town and they’re perilously close to white trash caricatures, but the two experienced actors make them believable. Kim Dickens (HBO’s Deadwood) almost feels like she’s from a different movie, but she does a fine job as the TV reporter who hopes to share Avery’s story with the world.

Less successful is Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan) as the father of Danny and Harold. He’s never unleashed and allowed to chew the scenery exactly, but he’s chomping at the bit the whole time. His character would’ve been better suited by an icy malignance rather than the belligerent swagger Sizemore brings.

Flaws aside, Red is a lean and mean pulp genre exercise that puts me in the mind of the recent Shotgun Stories. Though it doesn’t reach the same heights or plumb the same depths of that terrific film, it strikes a similarly stark emotional tone and it delivers the same kind of sweaty, slowly mounting tension. For those with a stomach for the material and a taste for pulp, Red is surely worth a look. Those who have admired Brian Cox in other smaller parts are likely to be satisfied.

Red opened in New York on August 8 and it comes to Los Angeles on Friday.

Red. USA 2008. Directed by Trygve Allister Diesen and Lucky McKee. Screenplay by Stephen Susco from a novel by Jack Ketchum. Cinematography by Harald Paalgard. Edited by Jon Endre Mork. Score composed by Soren Hyldgaard. Starring Brian Cox, Tom Sizemore, Noel Fisher, Kyle Gallner, Shiloh Fernandez, Kim Dickens, Robert Englund and Amanda Plummer. 1 hour 35 minutes. MPAA rated R for violence and language. 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Filed under: Reviews
Tags: Amanda Plummer, Brian Cox, Harald Paalgard, Jack Ketchum, Jon Endre Mork, Kim Dickens, Kyle Gallner, Lucky McKee, Noel Fisher, Red, Robert Englund, Shiloh Fernandez, Soren Hyldgaard, Stephen Susco, Tom Sizemore, Trygve Allister Diesen
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