THE PASSENGER (2023)

 

Directed By: Carter Smith 

Written By: Jack Stanley 

Cinematography: Lyn Moncrief 

Editor: Eric Nagy

Cast: Kyle Gallner, Johnny Berchtold, Liza Weil, Kanesha Washington, Sue Rock, Lupe Len, Mariah Benoit, Brooks Anne Hayes 

A man is forced to face his fears and confront his troubled past. He must find a way to survive when his co-worker snaps and goes on a violent killing spree.

This film passed any expectations that I had going in as it seemed like it was going to be pretty much a crime spree movie that might have gotten off on its violence.

Instead, we get a film that is not a deep character study, but a character study nonetheless where the two leads and part of the cast of characters are all dealing with past trauma that they seem to have dealt with, but didn’t necessarily get past and the different ways in which they’re dealing with it.

While the whole cast rises to the occasion, as usual, I have the shout-out actor, Kyle Gallner who is the character actor who I have seen in many different films, and recently has been playing more leads, and he seems to always rise above or Fitz right in and more makes the movie his.

The film starts off with what looks to be mundane before a shocking act of violence gets you out of that mindset And keeps you on edge throughout. You truly never quite know what’s going to happen next, as we are taken along with the psychopath and the boy he takes hostage and a sort of accomplice, determined to understand and cure him.

Along the way we did into both of their pasts one is clear, the other not quite, but leaves us to figure it out and doesn’t spell it out yet we believe we know.

Separates this from other criminals on the run films in that the lead character the psychopath isn’t stupid but while at first he seems like he has a plan and knows what he’s doing along the way the film does it make him necessarily a hero, or a stand-in for any certain subject or new story he’s a human being, a person dealing with rage And just as most of us acting like he has an altogether but underneath he’s just going through the motions and trying to do what seems right to survive.

The film actually, while being violent isn’t as violent as it would make you believe it’s more psychological than physical, and is quite chatty rather than action-oriented.

There are ways in which the material could’ve been different or dealt with but the way it is is fine and it still manages to be a genre film yet makes it and definitely deserves to be seen and talked about.

It wouldn’t have taken away from the film if maybe it had more of a homoerotic theme throughout which it seems to flirt with, but never goes that far as it has bigger fish to fry and other issues and it wants to convey.

Grade: B-