Set in the 1970s, Motor City follows the story of a man who falls in love with a woman who happened to have dated a gangster before him. Soon, things are set in place to get rid of him, a grave mistake for those involved.
In US theaters now
TW: Mild strobe effect near the 2/3 mark
Written by Chad St. John and directed by Potsy Ponciroli, Motor City does something few action film do, it sets out to tell a story with minimal dialog while leaving all the room for the action and violence. The way the story develops here works quite well without dialog with character development happening on the screen, the action clearly visible, context clue to guide you through, and a solid soundtrack. The writing and directing work here are both solid and really show what you can do without depending on spoken words to advance the story. Granted, this means this is a film that requires the audience to pay attention and is definitely not meant to be watched with a second screen (something some streaming services are pushing for).
The cast here, in most cases, gets no line, so they have to be able to communicate in other ways, and they do so beautifully well. In the lead, Alan Ritchson is tough and charming, showing a useful range of emotions. He’s the center of it all, and a lot of the action scenes depend on his physicality, and it makes it work quite well. As his love interest and the sole lady in the film (what’s up with that filmmakers?), Shailene Woodley holds her own and brings the emotions, really going through a wide range and truly putting the work in for her few spoken sentences. Playing her ex and the man who causes so many problems, Ben Foster takes what could have been simple gangster and makes him despicable from the second he appears on screens. He’s icky. He’s someone you would never want to get to know. Foster is fantastic in this part. Showing up in the supporting case is Pablo Schreiber who is almost unrecognizable at first, Ben McKenzie who doesn’t get nearly enough screentime as he shows how to do quiet yet powerful acting. Lionel Boyce, Amar Chadha-Patel, Mister Fitzgerald, and small bunch of others round out the cast of mostly line-less characters, and each makes an impact on the story.
The look of the film is a strong highlight here, from the set dressing to the costumes, that fur on Woodley, her slinky dresses, the suits that look make of some terrible 1970s fabrics (which are making a comeback of course), it all comes together to create the world for the story to make sense in. The visuals are strong with this movie and the folks behind them aren’t shy about going all in. This is all filmed in just the right style with cinematography by John Matysiak who knows how to film all the action but also the quieter moments, the times when the characters just are. The lighting, framing, angles, all of it pulls the viewers in. The editing by Joe Galdo shows an understanding of action and of how important pacing is in a film as a whole but also in each sequence. The film makes the most of its scenes and a lot of it has to do with when it ends, how long things linger at times, and how well you can see the action.
In a film that is ultimately about love and lost, a film that will feel like more looks than content, there is a story that works, acting that is on point even without lines, and action scenes that are straight up fun. Is there a bad wig here? Yeah. But there’s also a whole lot of good. And that scene (seen in the trailer) with the engagement ring coming out of the shotgun; it sort of feels like it may be a homage to another hyper-stylized Detroit-set film from 30+ years ago. Motor City does something so few American action film do anymore, it tries something different. This may not work for all, but it worked for this movie nerd well enough to make her come on here and review the film in the middle of the biggest film festival of the year. (A quick side note, that end, the very last scene, feels tacked on and unnecessary, like a studio decision and it will be ignored in any future rewatches.)