Jason Sudeikis leads the cast of ‘south of heaven‘, a magnificent dramatic thriller in the vein of classics like ‘a simple plan‘ (A Simple Plan, 1998) or ‘Easy Blood’ (Blood Simple, 1984), directed by Aharon Keshales, the artistic half of ‘Big Bad Wolves’. The film is now available on Filmin or Movistar+.
a simple plan
A few months ago, the trailer for one of those midnight movies that we like so much. On paper, I had all the ballots to be my roll. After half a minute I had enough charge of good vibes not to go ahead with the advance. Later I confirmed my good feelings: ‘South of Heaven’ is a gigantic thriller.
With these desperate characters, condemned for an eternity without redemption, it’s hard not to enjoy Keshales’ first solo work. Like everything not to go of stories more or less crossedthe choral film, written with the unavoidable collaboration of his partner Navot Papushado (in turn responsible for ‘Gunpowder Milkshake’), has a great cast (Michael Paré!), high-level tension and platitudes and fatalism.
It is not the intention of those responsible to reinvent anything, and their honesty, the crazy turns and some pretty low blows make ‘South of Heaven’ a wonderful experience. Jimmy gets early parole after twelve years in prison for armed robbery. With his release she will be able to fulfill the promise he made to Annie, his longtime girlfriend, who is dying of cancer, and give her the best year of his life. Unfortunately, all the elements will turn against you.
The best thing a film like this ‘South of Heaven’ can do is be honest with the viewer, starting with being honest with itself, and prepare a trip full of surprises through some ingredients that caused real pleasures two or three decades ago. It seems simple, but not every day we see a title of these characteristics. In recent years, the only thing that comes to mind is the remarkable ‘I don’t feel comfortable in this world anymore’, by Macon Blair, a student of another of those masters of the current genre, Jeremy Saulnier.
Indebted to masterpieces such as the Sam Raimi film or the unrepeatable (and disappeared?) ‘turn to hell‘, the story of this ex-convict condemned for life to a life in hell arrives in a beautiful Cinemascope with which to amplify its vintage aftertaste, which does not prevent it from showing a couple of narrative leaps of groundbreaking modernity. In addition, he leaves a gift the most beautiful final shot it’s from the season.
‘South of Heaven’ arrives with the aura of the hidden gems of independent cinema that were recommended like wildfire in our trusted video stores. A heartwarming thriller about charming losers with an ending that will leave you with your heart poking out of your mouth and that does not forget funny moments or an appropriate touch of carnage. Nothing better than a movie that looks like a movie in 2022. You have been warned.