Ambition trumps experience in writer-director Phil Plattenberger’s “Laws of Man,” whose meandering plot ends up looking like a wild goose chase — and whose execution should have been even wilder. Suspense and atmosphere are so poorly provided that this stab at an old, noisy thriller comes across as anything other than talky, weird, and unconvincing. Set in 1963, the film requires a significant narrative leap toward the end, suggesting an intent closer to Cold War paranoid fantasies like Dr. Strange Love and Winter Kills. But the satirical edge that might have This gambit succeeds absently throughout, making the whole thing awkward without ever being engaging. Saban will release the feature in US theaters, digital and on-demand platforms on January 10.
Based in the state capital of Carson City, Frank (Jacob Keohane) and Tommy (Jackson Rathbone) are U.S. marshals who drive 15 hours into the remotest terrain of the Nevada desert to capture Crash Moncalf (Richard Brake) and his criminal gang. A shootout ensues, leaving none of their quarry alive – illustrating the differences between the mismatched officers of the law.
Frank is a conventional type whose toughness partly represents a battle against PTSD from military service in World War II that surfaces in harsh flashbacks. In contrast, the younger Tommy is a trigger-happy “cowboy”, leaning towards any available wine or women, as well as ignoring any applicable protocols. When they find a dusty hotel to spend the night, Tommy quickly hooks up with a ravishing red-clad resident lady (Ashley Gallegos as Dinah), who angrily insists she’s not a prostitute…then demands $20 for the night, though. After an idle conversation with bartender Callie (Kelly Lynn Reiter), Frank simply retires to his room, where, as usual, he will be plagued by nightmares of combat.
The next day, they have another warrant to serve. This time the recipient is area rancher Benjamin Bonney (Dermot Mulroney), who, along with his thuggish sons, is suspected of killing anyone in the area who does not surrender their land to him. Once again, our heroes are greeted by gunfire, though this time the duo manage to get inside – only to find the smiling Bonney family informing them that the arrest warrant has been canceled, which a phone call confirms.
There’s clearly some sort of conspiracy going on here to protect these guilty parties. While the case is no longer official, the pesky guards decide to stay and get to the bottom of the case. Important characters who later appear include the FBI agent with whom Tommy fought in the Korean War (Christopher L.), his icy boss (Keith Carradine) and an alien scientist (Chase Gutzmore) working on a top-secret project.
Graham Greene is wasted as the county sheriff, and the scenery-chewing veteran actors don’t seem to be taking things too seriously – least of all Harvey Keitel who plays an old sage in a “preacher’s camper” RV who looks like he dropped in from a different movie. Unfortunately, champions and other novice performers have to play things straight, which doesn’t work to their advantage. The pseudo-boiled dialogue they are handed is often stilted, and the mannerisms and attitudes are strained. The often absurdly action-happy characters fire off so many shots with so little effect on their surroundings, it’s as if the film doesn’t want you to forget that these are just actors shooting guns—perhaps wagging their fingers and saying “Pew! Pew! Pew!”
It doesn’t help that even within the modest confines of its rural setting and limited population, “The Laws of Man” does a very prosaic job of conveying the period. Is it so difficult to convince an actor playing a federal agent 60 years ago to get a haircut more appropriate than what we might call an “early 90s Brad Pitt”? Many of these distracting details undermine the plausibility that Plattenberger never established in the first place.
There are enough left turns in his script to make you wonder if the director intended at some point to take a freer, surreal excursion before budget constraints and other factors limited his vision. But the final product seems relatively devoid of humor, leaving the cast looking ridiculous in the film. Scenes that would have flown if they were played as deadpan comedy – not the substance that is achieved or even seems to be aimed for here.
Likewise, pedestrian design contributions keep Laws of Man from reaching high ground, as Daniel Troyer’s cinematography and Qing Shan Chang’s original score reflect the basic competence of yesteryear’s B-movies without any sense of style or cynicism. Finally, “The Laws of Man” arrives somewhere you didn’t quite expect it. But getting there often goes poorly, with the destination ending up as just another idea that you lack the means or skills to properly realize.