Rebel Ridge opens with formal marine Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre) getting his bike rammed by a police car. Suddenly, he finds himself cuffed by two officers who take possession of his money that he hopes to post bail for his cousin. Although Terry is let off with a warning, this desperate attempt to free a family member gets out of control by the antagonizing police department of Shelby Springs.
While that tense opening sequence evokes racial tension and police brutality, writer and director Jeremy Saulnier is also tapping into a particular kind of action thriller. If anything, Rebel Ridge has a similar premise to First Blood, which introduces Sylvester Stallone’s iconic John Rambo, who gets antagonized by the local sheriff, leading to a series of brutal events that results in him becoming the target of a massive manhunt. It is worth noting that though Ted Kotcheff’s film can be perceived by many being as a meat-headed action movie, there is more nuance than you think, certainly compared to its over-the-top sequels.
If you have seen his previous films Blue Ruin and Green Room, Saulnier is about subverting our expectations when comes to certain genres, though perhaps not quite as successfully in Rebel Ridge. The moment Don Johnson appears on screen as Chief Sandy Burnne, who presents a nastiness right from the jump, you have a pretty good idea about where the narrative is going.
Whereas the two aforementioned Saulnier films succeeded more in their leanness which benefit from their 90-minute running time, Rebel Ridge is 131 minutes long, and although you can feel the length, Saulnier is able to maintain tension throughout, as well as getting across ideas about small-town politics and the corruption that comes out of it. While a generic action premise like this would have resolved in strong bloody violence with a great deal of guns firing and explosions, the film shows that path to violence isn’t always the answer. Revealed later what particular set of skills are, Richmond realizes they aren’t enough to untangle this web of conspiracy, or indeed help his imprisoned cousin.
This is a star-making turn for Aaron Pierre, whose physical presence is enough to show intimidation, and yet when he is first provoked by the authorities, he speaks in a soft manner and with intelligence whenever he questions that something feels off. In a stereotypical action role of the ex-Marine, you either play it as cold and methodical, or as unhinged and unpredictable.
As Terry Richmond, Pierre finds that healthy balance of the two where he tries to maintain a plan, even when outside forces intervene which causes him to lose his cool at times, but he has to keep moving forward. Pierre’s performance elevates everyone else, from Don Johnson who should do villainous roles, to a dramatic turn from AnnaSophia Robb as Richmond’s only ally Summer, who functions more as a plot mechanic despite a tragic backstory.
As with Saulnier’s 2018 feature Hold the Dark, you can only watch Rebel Ridge on Netflix, which is a shame, considering the film’s sense of tension should be a theatrical experience. As Saulnier serves as his own editor, there is some action that showcases Richmond’s aforementioned set of skills where you do feel that fist-pumping relief, but the film’s most intense sequences are moments of slow-burn, whether a conversation that could escalate into something confrontational, or the simple sight of a police car on the road.
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