Review #1,223: 'Cop Car' (2015)

For anyone with children of their own, Jon Watts' Cop Car may just be one of the most uncomfortable cinematic experiences you'll ever sit through, as it revels in putting its two young protagonists through hell as part of their unique coming-of-age. The two baby-faced runaways at the story's centre are played with incredible naturalism by James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford, which will no doubt make the movie all the more distressing for any doting parents. The rest of us can marvel at an incredibly well-constructed and tightly-wound thriller, which also ventures into neo-noir territory akin to early work of the Coen Brothers and, more recently and albeit with less blood, Jeremy Saulnier's Blue Ruin. It's a small piece of work that didn't escape the eyes of Marvel Studios, who quickly snapped Watts up for their delicate reboot of Spider-Man.

Opening in a vast field in the middle of nowhere, pre-teens Travis (Freedson-Jackson) and Harrison (Wellford) wander aimlessly practising swearing and sharing a Slim Jim. It's soon becomes clear that they have run away from home, but less clear is why and just how far they've come. Their boredom is soon relieved by the sight of an empty police car, parked suspiciously with keys still in the ignition and an empty beer bottle on the hood. Curiosity naturally gets the better of them and they are soon revving up the engine and teaching themselves how to drive. If anyone pulls them over, they'll just claim to be the police. We are then treated to a flashback, in which we learn that the car's owner, Sheriff Kretzer (Kevin Bacon), is not a very nice man at all. He strips to his vest, dons gloves, and proceeds to pull a body out of the trunk and buries it. When he returns to his parking spot and realises his grave error, he quickly starts to cover his tracks and hunt down the thieves.

The plot of Cop Car relies heavily on sheer stupidity. Kretzer, an experienced officer, should not have left the keys behind, or his gun, or the soon-to-be-discovered roughed-up criminal in the trunk (played by Shea Whigham). But many great thrillers are built upon the clumsy actions of the buffoons driving the action, and Cop Car is no exception. In keeping the characters backgrounds a mystery, they come unpredictable, and the film becomes increasingly intense because of this. Watts and Christopher Ford's screenplay carefully moves its small band of characters into place (including a nosy bystander played by Camryn Manheim whose good intentions seem to be destined for tragedy) for a thrilling finale that manages to keep you on the edge of your seat right up to the very last scene. Passed on for a cinema release, Cop Car is a fine example of the kind of surprises to be found with straight-to-DVD titles, elegantly combining action, dark humour, and a believable coming-of-age tale.


Directed by: Jon Watts
Starring: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Camryn Manheim, Shea Whigham
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie