Garett Hedlund, Oscar Isaac, Mark Wahlberg, Walter Goggins, Dania Ramirez and Fran Kranz. These are the stars in this movie. It is jam packed. But why didn’t it have a larger cinematic debut across the pond?
Mojave tells the story of Tom played by the enigmatic Garrett Hedlund, the movie star who goes to the desert to find himself but ends up bumping into Jack, the homicidal drifter living there. He hunts Tom across the desert and then follows him back to the city breaking into his home and family causing chaos along the way. It’s a generic story with some familiar faces along the way, all of which were wasted by a script written and directed by William Monahan (who wrote The Departed, Oblivion and Sin City 2).
The problem with the film isn’t the sub-par acting from Hedlund and his girlfriend Milly (played by french actress Louise Bourgoin) but the direction from William Monahan. The actors most of the time look gormlessly into the great beyond thanks to the script being bare. There is no backstory for the characters to work with and that’s why the film is a little boring. There is no catalyst to engage the viewer like the trailer makes you feel with its electronic grip.
I think the director was going for the crime thriller genre with this film, but I felt he was going down the route of film noir as many of the scenes were gloomy and many of the locations were shown at night or in the dark. They should have re-edited it to make it more gritty and dark. Also what was the deal with Oscar Isaacs character, why did he speak with that unbalanced tone and why in the third person. It was bizarre. Mark Wahlberg’s character was always in his bathrobe yet lived in a mansion connoting that he was very much wealthy, and his attitude was erratic. No mention in the film that he was a drug dealer, but that’s what I am guessing he was. Walter Goggins played the elusive man, he didn’t do much to help the story, however, his attire was excellent. He looked like a man on a mission, maybe a dancer in the Mexico badlands or some kind of mariachi player like Desperado. Maybe it was because he always played the evil character in Tarantino films.
The only gripe I had about the film was a large talent involved within. It was huge, yet this film was terrible. I love Garrett Hedlund ever since his portrayal of Sam Flynn in the 2010 film Tron Legacy and Oscar Isaac for his portrayal of Poe Dameron in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. How did they mess this film up so badly.
Overall a bad film, a shame because of the large varied cast in the film should have made it a definite winner across the board. I suppose you can’t make a good film without a less then stellar script.
Should you watch it: NO
Should You Watch It? 