Upamanyu Biswas
Directed by Jeremy Saulnier, the action thriller film, ‘Rebel Ridge,’ uncovers a corruption ring within the police force of a small town locality. The movie follows a former Marine, Terry Richmond, whose bag of money is seized by the authorities after they charge him with an unjust violation. Subsequently, the protagonist has to fight tooth and nail to recover the cash so that he can post bail for his cousin, Mike Simmons. However, saving Mike proves to be a challenging ordeal as Terry faces more and more obstacles in his path when he draws the ire of the town’s police chief, Sandy Burnne. With time ticking away, Mike’s fate becomes the central motivating factor for Terry, who has to take drastic measures to rescue his cousin. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Terry’s Efforts to Save His Cousin End up in Vain
‘Rebel Ridge’ begins with Terry cycling into town with the bail money for his cousin when he is swept off the road by a police cruiser. After two officers perform a quick body search on Terry, they discover the bag containing the money, which they seize under false drug charges. Following the incident, Terry has to jump through several legal hurdles, even attempting to make a deal with Chief Sandy Burnne. When all else fails, he takes the whole station hostage to recover the money. It proves futile when Terry learns that his cousin has been transferred to the Samaritan Hospital Center after sustaining multiple stab wounds. Mike passes away before the protagonist can meet him at the medical center, only being able to see his dead body instead.
For Terry, the whole purpose of his visit to Shelby Springs is to bail out Mike and hopefully talk some sense into him. He is uninterested in the corruption of the local police, viewing it as a minor inconvenience in his path. Hence, he is prepared to negotiate a deal with them to meet his cousin at 9 A.M. on a Monday morning. However, the Chief decides to blow his word by making the transfer bus leave before Terry can have a word with Mike. Upon flagging the bus down on his cycle, Terry tries to warn Mike to keep a low profile once he reaches the state penitentiary, fearing that the criminals there will kill him for his actions.
The protagonist is constantly on the back foot while trying to rescue Mike. Even after taking several extreme decisions – like holding the Chief and Officer Lann hostage in the police department – his actions still prove to be lacking. Terry is captured by the authorities and subsequently let go at the Samaritan Hospital Center by the Chief himself. There, Terry is distraught to learn that Mike was attacked and mortally wounded in the state prison, exactly as he expected. Subsequently, Chief Burnne and Officer Marston order Terry to leave the town that night after grieving for his cousin. Terry accepts the deal but soon finds himself biting his choice when the corruption of the Shelby Springs P.D. hurts another person close to him.
Mike’s Death Compels Terry to Resolve the Corruption in Shelby Springs
Although Terry does not achieve his main objective of saving Mike before the worst can happen to him, his death proves to be a catalyst in the protagonist taking up arms against Chief Burnne and his people. At first, Terry is too caught up in Mike’s death to care about anything else happening in the town. However, when trouble follows Summer McBride, a court clerk who helps Terry in seeking bail for Mike, the ex-Marine has no choice but to do something about the blatant abuse of power by Chief Burnne.
Therefore, in many ways, Mike’s incarceration and eventual death serve as the inciting incident of the story, foisting Terry Richmond into the web of deceit of the Shelby Springs Police Department. Without Terry traveling to the town seeking to post his cousin’s bail, the corruption amidst the police ranks would have gone unchecked. Thus, while Mike’s death is a difficult thing for Terry to process, it forces the latter into action. However, try as he might, he will never get the opportunity to reunite with his cousin, who he clearly loved despite their differences.
Read More: Rebel Ridge Ending, Explained: What does Terry Take Out of the Car?
