Film Review – Desperation Road

The poster for “Desperation Road” has stars Mel Gibson and Garrett Hedlund holding guns, posed in a way that suggests the feature is an action film, with plenty of violence served up for viewers. It’s a strange way to promote an effort that’s not all that physically active, more interested in human sorrow than blazing weapons. I suppose this is the way of movie marketing, but the picture actually offers a more tender view of characters in pain, struggling to right themselves in a world that’s seemingly working against then. Guns are involved in the plot, but screenwriter Michael Farris Smith (adapting his own 2017 novel) tries to remain with emotions during the run time, studying lasting pain and surprising connections, aiming to make a little mournful Mississippi screen poetry with the endeavor. Director Nadine Crocker has a decent grasp on the material, overseeing a well-acted and periodically powerful study of grief. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com