SPOILER-FREE PLOT SUMMARY
Based in the mid-1970’s, John Miller (played by Alan Ritchson) is in an alley outside a bar when an accosted and abused Sophia Hammond (Shailene Woodley) stumbles outside trying to get away from her boyfriend, a coke dealer named Reynolds (Ben Foster). John and Sophia strike up a conversation and, as she starts to see the concern he has for her well being, Reynolds emerges with his entourage to confront the attempted escapee. After manhandling her in the middle of the street, John comes to her defense, violently threatening him before Sophia shows concern of her own, this time for his safety if he hurts Reynolds. John backs away and the two leave the scene, falling in love and, eventually, getting a place together. Minutes after John proposes in their kitchen, their home is invaded by the Detroit Police Department led by Captain Savick (Pablo Schreiber), a crooked cop who’s been bribed by Reynolds to find the man who took his girlfriend. John is framed with cocaine possession charges and given 25 years in prison. Threatened with eviction and an overwhelming number of bills she can’t pay with just her diner waitress job, Sophia is seduced back by the wealthy and powerful Reynolds. The two marry and Reynolds continuously taunts John while he’s wasting away in jail on the very crimes that he imposed on him. This only fuels his anger to find a way out, find a way to Reynolds and, most importantly, find a way back to the woman he loves.
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
I’m not sure if the filmmakers were out drinking one night and challenges started flowing like “Is it possible to do a modern day film as close to the silent era as possible?” or “What’s the lowest words-per-minute ratio we can get green lit?” or “Can I make an entire movie based on my favorite songs and a score?” Regardless, writer Chad St. John and director Potsy Ponciroli are to be applauded because MOTOR CITY is all kinds of fun and different.
The first line of dialogue spoken is 8:57 into the film and it’s just a last name. The next line isn’t until 10 minutes later. That should give you some idea of how little is said, despite it’s 103-minute runtime.
Instead, era-appropriate music tells the story. Characters not being allowed to speak is a creative choice that not many cinephiles would make but here we have a solid attempt to do so. The lyrics and voices of Bill Withers, Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, The Moody Blues and Donna Summer are all used as a way to inform the audience as opposed to simply bolster or embellish a conversation that’s being had or a sequence that we’re watching.
While Ponciroli gets props for thinking outside the box when it comes to a music-driven movie, MOTOR CITY is not a home run. It’s more of an RBI double.
There are some good things like the performances of Ritchson and Woodley, John rubbing graveyard dirt on the hands he’s about to use to kill someone is a great touch and the Jack White cameo is outstanding. But then there’s how Foster has zero on-screen charisma, the knife is obviously CGI in the elevator scene and fading from the graffiti lion head into Ritchson’s face feels a little cheesy.
We beg filmmakers and studios all the time to show us something different. MOTOR CITY absolutely shows us something different and it should be applauded for that. And then there’s the fact that it’s just a solid action example of the genre.
JKG SCORE: 6.5 out of 10
Untitled Film Project 