Upamanyu Biswas
Netflix’s action thriller film ‘Rebel Ridge‘ follows a former Marine named Terry Richmond as he confronts a widespread corruption ring in a small, isolated town. After Terry is detained for traffic violations, the local police seize the bag of money he has gathered to post bail for his cousin, Mike. Subsequently, Terry has to race against time to secure the cash before Mike is transferred stateside. However, as obstacles keep mounting on his path, the protagonist has to avail the help of a local court clerk, Summer McBride, who reveals more about the conspiracy engulfing the town and the steps he must take to save what is his.
Under the direction of Jeremy Saulnier, ‘Rebel Ridge’ takes a more measured pace to its action narrative, allowing the tension and suspense to dictate the drama. The movie centers on an enigmatic protagonist whose intimidating presence threatens the peace of the town and puts him in direct opposition to those in power. While action and intrigue form the backbone of the story, the Netflix thriller explores themes of injustice, abuse of law, and the degradation of authoritative powers. Therefore, the central corruption scandal is sure to spark interest in viewers regarding the authenticity of the situation presented, making them question if a real event is what it’s based on.
Rebel Ridge is a Modern Take on Old Classics That Does Not Compromise on Complexity
Written, directed, and co-produced by Jeremy Saulnier, ‘Rebel Ridge’ is a fictional story that dives into a conflict between an outsider and a small-town police force. At its heart, the narrative revolves around a one-man against-the-world scenario – the perfect stakes for an action thriller. While drafting the screenplay, Saulnier took inspiration from several places, not least of which were action films from the past, like the 1982 Sylvester Stallone-starrer, ‘First Blood.‘ There, too, a war veteran finds himself the target of a manhunt by a small-town police force and its sinister sheriff.
However, the initial springboard for ‘Rebel Ridge’ came to Saulnier through the Western genre. When conceiving his protagonist, the filmmaker thought of The Man with No Name from the ‘Dollars Trilogy’ film series by Sergio Leone. “Terry rides into town on a bike, not a horse, but it’s the same concept. The less you know about his past, the better,” the director said in an interview. “He’s trying to get from one place to another. He’s trying to understand this goofy, corrupt system that’s infuriating in its levels of bureaucracy and lack of accountability. I always thought of Terry as a Western character. We joked about tumbleweed rolling through the frame.”
Rebel Ridge Thrives on Showcasing the Minute Details of Institutions Through the Lens of Suspense
Although action plays a significant role in ‘Rebel Ridge,’ the film is built on presenting a granular texture to its world, its encompassing systems, and the lives of people who are affected by the churning machinery. Instead of jumping straight into bone-crunching scenes of violence, the movie takes its time to layer a complex and authentic world where people’s ideals, morality, and ethics are questioned. In a Polygon interview, Jeremy Saulnier said, “The primary goal here was to make a traditional American action flick, with ideally more artistry, a little headier. I like to get into the very grounded nature, the minutiae other films might pass by, as far as institutions go.”
He continued, “Not just as it relates to race, but as it relates to human beings in these systems — what part they play, whether they’re aware of it or not, or if they are, how they choose to disavow their responsibility, or ignore the fact that they’re perpetuating corrupt systems.” To make everything tick in the right way, Saulnier had no qualms in taking the time with his scenes. In particular, he referenced sequences from one of his previous films, ‘Hold the Dark,’ to have directly influenced a scene in ‘Rebel Ridge.’ He explained, “It’s just two guys talking. I’d wanted to recreate that experience. As a filmmaker, I love that quiet tension, hearing the environment, and having this back-and-forth between two guys standing there.”
The Thriller Examines Corruption and Lack of Accountability
One of the more grounded aspects of ‘Rebel Ridge’ is its exploration of complicit behavior among people and how it leads to a massive community-wide corruption scandal. In doing so, the movie portrays a stark image of how people can become enablers for a duplicitous regime – either through a lack of responsibility or fear. For Jeremy Saulnier, the fight for justice took on a personal note owing to his experiences. “I have an obsession with justice—in my life, in my travels, and in the workplace,” he said. “I certainly can infuse my very personal experience into my films and put it in a broader, more cinematic context that has more meaning to viewers.”
“With “Rebel Ridge,” my research led the way, as far as the shocking revelation of how constitutional guarantees are not at all guaranteed,” the director added. “And it’s not always because of evil systems trying to oppress the marginalized. It’s because there’s no fucking money. People will disavow their place in these systems, and they’ll justify it through saying it’s for the greater good of putting food on their family table.” Even for the protagonist, Terry Richmond, the fight for something beyond himself takes a while to register, as it does for everyone. Perhaps that, more than anything, highlights the director’s efforts to ground the film in reality.
Read More: Rebel Ridge: Who is Serpico? Who was Summer’s Secret Source?
