It’s not surprising a film like Small Town Saturday Night never found theaters. Written and directed by Ryan Craig, this small little indie about the small lives of inhabitants of a, wait for it, “small town” doesn’t offer anything controversial in content, revolutionary in technology or relevant by way of movie stars. Yes, Chris Pine stars as Rhett Ryan, a guitar-strumming dreamer on his way to Nashville and bigger and better things, but this thing was made and cut before people knew what a “Chris Pine” was.
This is the kind of movie that recalls past movies, but does it with an earnest that can only come from true experiences from real people. From now until the end of time, characters in movies will continue to say things like “everything will be alright” and “just be yourself,” and, in turn, so will characters in real life.
And why? Because what else is there to say. Sure it’s unoriginal, cliched, practiced, easy, simple. It’s also true.
Craig knows as much, and so does his film. Pine’s Rhett is a young man too smart for his home town, but too romantic to escape. His girlfriend Sam (Bre Blair, who’s rather excellent here) has a lot of baggage, what with a daughter (Kali Majors) and an ex-husband (Shawn Christian) who also happens to be the town’s sheriff and, accordingly, the only working police officer.
It’s a common tale, recalling anything from The Last Picture Show to High Noon. One day, one decision, one outcome. It’s as simple as that, and it’s refreshing amidst a thousand convoluted blockbusters without an honest bone in their bodies.
People work at gas stations, but don’t get much work done. Everybody’s a mechanic and everybody’s a musician, but only a few are good at being either. Pine, as the town’s one really good musician, does good work here. He’s the kind of performer not weighed down by too much acting classes or too many rules on what and what not to do on screen. He’s neither method nor theater-trained, but somewhere in the middle. Here, he plays himself as a southern son. It’s the way Harrison Ford played Han Solo or Indiana Jones, the way Michael Douglas plays every role of his: themselves plus somebody else. There’s an honesty to this kind of self-awareness that only movie stars can achieve. It’s safe to say Pine will never absorb into a role the way Pacino fell into Michael Corleone or Brando into Terry Malloy, but he commands the screen just as well as a Will Smith or Brad Pitt does today. Blame it on the good looks.
Craig’s writing leaves a bit to be desired, but it never strikes a false note. Every father’s let a son down, and every son has let themselves down in trying to deal with their past. Some find redemption by film’s end, others don’t And on and on it goes. John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone) turns in a hardened, brutal performance as Donnie, the older brother of the sheriff. It was his younger brother who put him in jail only a few months back. Tensions are high.
Playing at just over 90 minutes, the film goes by fast but runs smooth. We know these characters and root for them. Even if they gave up rooting for themselves a long time ago.
7 out of 10
Have you seen Small Town Saturday Night? Heard of it? What do you think of Chris Pine as an actor?