Netflix has released 'Rebel Ridge', an action film about a former Marine's confrontation with corrupt police in a small town. Why this grounded story with a low concentration of action aspires to be the main event of the year—in our review.

According to the plot of the film 'Rebel Ridge', former Marine Terry (Aaron Pierre) is stopped by two police officers on his way to the town of Shelby Springs. They find $36,000 in cash in his backpack, which they write off as drug deal proceeds and pocket. The catch is that part of this money was intended as bail to get his cousin out of jail. Now Terry must get the money back at all costs, otherwise his cousin will end up in the state penitentiary, where he could be killed.

In recent years, the action genre has been experiencing a true thematic renaissance, characterized by a rejection of formulaic plots in favor of those that carry social commentary. The same thing, albeit on a larger scale more noticeable to audiences, is happening with horror films, which are now often prefixed with 'post-' or the epithet 'elevated'. And if earlier, during the mass duplication on VHS tapes, both of these genres were often relegated to the 'niche' category, starting from the second half of the 2010s, even critics began to treat them much more favorably. 'Rebel Ridge' is, if you will, a post-action film where the semantic component prevails over the entertainment one.

Director Jeremy Saulnier ('Blue Ruin', 'Green Room') considered it far more important to convey to the viewer the idea that police lawlessness stems from underfunding and corruption at all levels than to stuff his film with intense fight scenes. There aren't actually that many of the latter, and they aren't particularly bloody: on the contrary, the hero strives to minimize damage. But to be fair, they are all staged quite creatively and unpredictably.

Interestingly, this is already the third action film of 2024 that in one way or another addresses the theme of social justice. In 'The Beekeeper', Jason Statham challenged the entire global elite—from transnational magnates to the US president—and in 'Monkey Man', Dev Patel declared war on corrupt officials and a Hindu preacher. In 'Rebel Ridge', the confrontation only covers a small provincial town of Shelby Springs, but it is obvious that the phenomena existing in it are by no means unique.

An atmosphere of hopelessness and lack of money hangs in the air over the Louisiana backwoods.

The town is full of cops with racist prejudices, the judicial system is paralyzed by bribery, and all power is subordinated to the local sheriff. Moreover, despite police lawlessness and unlawful detentions, the town's funding actually comes from illegally obtained proceeds. Saulnier's film clearly features elements of 'Southern Gothic' in the best traditions of the first season of 'True Detective'. The image of a backwater with its own internal order in 'Rebel Ridge' is a great success, as is the main antagonist played by Don Johnson, for whom playing law enforcement officers is a favorite pastime. After all, he became famous playing 'good cops' in the series 'Miami Vice' and 'Nash Bridges'.

The main character himself, played by Aaron Pierre, is no less successful. For most of the film, he does not want to go all out, preferring futile attempts to negotiate on mutually beneficial terms. Even when he returns the money expropriated during the search, he only takes the amount that was for the bail of his arrested brother.

Interestingly, 'Rebel Ridge' sidesteps common clichés, such as the idea that if the hero is a Marine, he must have served in Iraq and gotten PTSD. But don't let the plot's slight similarity to the iconic 'Rambo' confuse you: Terry has never been on any foreign deployments, but his military service made him an excellent strategist. He is frighteningly disciplined and practically unaffected by emotions. His military training is revealed by his knowledge of all abbreviations, polite address of 'sir', and ability to calculate his enemies' steps in advance. He is not a killing machine; rather, on the contrary, a means of de-escalation (a word that is often heard in the film).

'Rebel Ridge' also does not stoop to such banalities as the mandatory love interest for the main character (a characteristic trope for all masculine action films). The film has a strong female character (AnnaSophia Robb), but she does not enter into a romantic relationship with Terry. Moreover, she is quite self-sufficient and interesting to the viewer.

Summing up all of the above, Jeremy Saulnier's film is, without exaggeration, a strong work from any perspective: powerful suspense, solid script, likable and non-template characters, charismatic antagonist. There's hardly anything to criticize!

It is not entirely clear, however, what exactly the director is calling for with his film—whether it is to introduce stricter public control over the police, or to stop cutting funding for its maintenance. The fact is that these two theses contradict each other in the American political context.

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