Bring Him to Me (2024) Film Review
Bring Him to Me, a nifty little thriller by Australian director Luke Sparke, is a great example of a genre film that has all the shots of changing the careers of everyone involved with it. Not that they actually need it. The film stars Barry Pepper and Sam Neill, of The Green Mile and Jurassic Park fame, in important roles that elevate the film above the indie cinema level with well-balanced performances, and the familiar-face factor that so well helps these kinds of movies. However, Sparke doesn’t exactly appeal to their presence for effect. He barely restrains them by sticking to the well-balanced script that film is based on, and ultimately executes a passion project that works inside the rules boundaries of the genre.
Beautifully-shot and with just the right amount of action, Bring Him to Me tells the story of a getaway driver whose latest job didn’t end well. He will not get paid until he takes one of the crew members to their boss who appears not to be satisfied with their latest performance. But the driver expands his knowledge of the passenger, and sees he’s not exactly a bad guy. When he mixes his emotions with the job, he tries to save the passenger’s life, and screws up the plan.
In Bring Him to Me, the main storyline has just one direction, and it’s the one you think of instantly. But half through the film, something happens. Something that shifts the direction and ethics of the characters by adding the punishment and justice element that their moral code requires. Suddenly, they’re not so good people anymore, and our impulse is to stay on course with them, without rooting for them. Some parts of the script are flimsy, but it’s great auteur work that shows the abilities of a writer-director team that had great communication.
The film works because of its performances by its prime cast. Barry Pepper plays the lead and he shows some skills we had seen him show before, but now he’s transitioned to a more mature role, playing the gruffy veteran who’s had a few cards up his sleeve and has been forced to use all of them. He contributes with much balance and a dramatic backdrop that makes the plot compelling.
You haven’t heard much of Jamie Costa in this side of the spectrum. But if you see his face, you will recognize his presence in the internet impersonating Robin Williams and Harrison Ford. In Bring Him to Me, he leaves the impersonation world behind and just sticks to a script that doesn’t require much from him, but he does the job.
Sam Neill plays an ambiguous character with the balance necessary to always be on the lookout for his twist. He always plays the nice dude, but in Bring Him to Me, there’s something to be careful for. It’s just not as obvious. All this is shown in flashback mode, with a cleverly written and chronologically-twisted scene that’s tense enough to affect the night where everything takes place.
The second half of the film takes a stumble when it must follow through the journey of characters with a different flow. Morals are now twisted, and they must end what they started. When the film goes on its last sprint, it dares to do the unthinkable and enter a territory of dread, death and violence that feels realistic and poignant because there are no happy endings in Sparke’s universe of mayhem and crime. The shift feels a bit melodramatic, but it will be appealing to those who like their drama. In any case, it feels like a rush job to finish the film, but the auteur theory should be respected as is. Bring Him to Me is also about inevitability and sometimes that takes the characters into a darker path.
