THE RENTAL (2020)
This is Dave Franco's directorial effort and as such he makes a good fist of it. The problem, however, is a script which tries to do two different things and consequently doesn't entirely succeed at either. Since Dave also gets a screenwriter credit, amongst other writers, we can probably assume he is at least in part to blame.
The plot involves two couples who decide to hire an Air b 'n' b for the weekend, a luxury house by the sea. The only problem is that the guy who rented it to them and who caretakes seems to be a bit of a redneck racist.
That looms as an issue because in its first two thirds the film takes a lot of time with its characters, setting up insecurities and small fracture points and slowly revealing past sins that will predictably come back to haunt them later.
The problems come about after things have really fallen apart for the quartet. About three quarters of the way in the film takes a different tack, one that it seemed possibly destined to do from the beginning, but all that good character work made you hope the filmmakers were aiming at bigger game.
But no, The Rental opts to take the Anonymous Slasher route and becomes exactly the same as 1000 other films that exist solely for cheap thrills (of which there are sadly very few on display) and a quick profit.
Hopefully Dave Franco will use his experience here on more ambitious projects and Dan Stevens will find something to star in that isn't such a low-rent B movie.
THE QUARRY (2020)
Shea Whigham is one of those actors that you instantly recognise but whose name no one seems to know. He is, as you can confirm on IMDB, in pretty much everything, and always brings a touch of naturalistic low-key authenticity.
You used to be able to say that of Michael Shannon except that these days everyone knows his name. Together they make a great pairing in a movie that is absolutely dependent on its actors to bring life to the two central characters.
Whigham is an unnamed drifter. In the opening scene he kills a priest for no apparent reason. Then he takes the man's identity and becomes the new priest in a small desolate town where Michael Shannon is the sheriff. Guilt slowly envelops him and his sermons reflect this inner turmoil (and attract increasing numbers to his church), and things shuffle towards some sort of a reckoning. That's most of it...
In case it isn't immediately obvious we are in modern Wesern noir territory here - a drifter new to town, tentative relationships hampered by hidden secrets - and we are definitely in slow cinema territory: every subtle gesture and tiny detailed moment adds to the drama but you're going to need a little patience if the poster image of Michael Shannon with a gun leads to expectations of action. Different film.
This is one of those perfectly acted, perfectly realised little films that is both satisfying and rewarding. It is a joy to watch these great actors really giving their all in such a tightly controlled scenario. Michael Shannon's line readings are worth the price of admission on their own - he really is a fascinating actor. But be warned, The Quarry may also bore the crap out of people more used to less patient pacing.
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