Josh Reviews Rebel Ridge

In the opening scene of Rebel Ridge, an African American man is biking when he’s knocked off the road by a cop car.  The man is Terry Richmond, and he’s on his way to post bail for his cousin.  But the cops seize all the bail money cash that Terry had in his backpack, claiming civil forfeiture.  Turns out Terry is the victim of a corrupt scheme the police are running in this small town in Louisiana.  Terry has a ticking clock to somehow get the money to bail out his cousin Mike, before Mike is transferred to a state prison where his life will be in danger because he’d previously served as a witness against a big-time gangster.  But Terry seems to be on his own, with the whole system stacked against him…

Rebel Ridge is a terrific drama/action film, written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier.  (Back in 2016 I really enjoyed Mr. Saulnier’s film Green Room, starring Patrick Stewart and Anton Yelchin.)  This is a taut, tense film; I was captivated right from minute one and that gripping opening sequence in which Terry first runs afoul of the local cops.

Aaron Pierre is magnificent as Terry.  He has a commanding on-screen presence.  Terry is a quiet, restrained personality, showing impressive calm even as he finds himself in deeper and deeper trouble as the film unfolds.  Mr. Pierre brings a magnetic intensity to his performance, even when Terry is being quiet and still.  But when that anger finally breaks out — watch out!  This is a wonderful character and a spectacular, movie-star performance.  (Terry reminds me a lot of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher.  In many ways, Rebel Ridge is a better Reacher story than the actual Reacher TV show!)  (Which I do like, by the way!)

AnnaSophia Robb made an impression on me in The Way Way Back; back then she was playing a kid; she’s great here playing an adult, Summer: a struggling mom with some skeletons in her closet who wants to do the right thing but has a lot to lose.  The film takes its time drawing Summer into the story, but her storyline works great.  I really liked the pair of Summer and Terry once they both found their backs to the wall.

Don Johnson is terrifically smarmy and menacing as the corrupt Chief; David Denman (Roy on The Office) and Emory Cohen are both great as two other awful cops.  Zsané Jhé does great work as officer Jessica Sims, a young African American officer working for the Chief who finds herself caught between the two sides.  The great James Cromwell (Babe, Star Trek: First Contact, L.A. Confidential) is wonderful in a very small role as the town’s only judge.

As was the case in Green Room, Mr. Saulnier has created a wonderful study in mounting suspense.  Things are bad right from minute one, and Mr. Saulnier keeps the tension mounted straight through the film.  When the action comes, it’s edge-of-your-seat exciting.

Apparently John Boyega was originally cast in the main role, but left after production had started, leading to the temporary shut-down of the film.  Wow.  That sounds like it was a tough situation for Jeremy Saulnier and his team.  I’m glad they were able to land Aaron Pierre and complete the film with him in the lead role.  I like John Boyega a lot (I will always love Attack the Block!), but Mr. Pierre is so good I find it very difficult to imagine anyone but him playing Terry.  Mr. Pierre’s magnetic performance is one of the main reasons to see this film!

I’m a big fan of this movie — I included it on my list of my favorite movies of 2024 — and I encourage you to check it out if you missed it last year.

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