HOME |  CULT MOVIES | COMPETITIONS | ADVERTISE |  CONTACT US |  ABOUT US
 
 
 
Newest Reviews
American Fiction
Poor Things
Thunderclap
Zeiram
Legend of the Bat
Party Line
Night Fright
Pacha, Le
Kimi
Assemble Insert
Venus Tear Diamond, The
Promare
Beauty's Evil Roses, The
Free Guy
Huck and Tom's Mississippi Adventure
Rejuvenator, The
Who Fears the Devil?
Guignolo, Le
Batman, The
Land of Many Perfumes
Cat vs. Rat
Tom & Jerry: The Movie
Naked Violence
Joyeuses Pacques
Strangeness, The
How I Became a Superhero
Golden Nun
Incident at Phantom Hill
Winterhawk
Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City
Maigret Sets a Trap
B.N.A.
Hell's Wind Staff, The
Topo Gigio and the Missile War
Battant, Le
Penguin Highway
Cazadore de Demonios
Snatchers
Imperial Swordsman
Foxtrap
   
 
Newest Articles
3 From Arrow Player: Sweet Sugar, Girls Nite Out and Manhattan Baby
Little Cat Feat: Stephen King's Cat's Eye on 4K UHD
La Violence: Dobermann at 25
Serious Comedy: The Wrong Arm of the Law on Blu-ray
DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery and More on Blu-ray
Monster Fun: Three Monster Tales of Sci-Fi Terror on Blu-ray
State of the 70s: Play for Today Volume 3 on Blu-ray
The Movie Damned: Cursed Films II on Shudder
The Dead of Night: In Cold Blood on Blu-ray
Suave and Sophisticated: The Persuaders! Take 50 on Blu-ray
Your Rules are Really Beginning to Annoy Me: Escape from L.A. on 4K UHD
A Woman's Viewfinder: The Camera is Ours on DVD
Chaplin's Silent Pursuit: Modern Times on Blu-ray
The Ecstasy of Cosmic Boredom: Dark Star on Arrow
A Frosty Reception: South and The Great White Silence on Blu-ray
You'll Never Guess Which is Sammo: Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon on Blu-ray
Two Christopher Miles Shorts: The Six-Sided Triangle/Rhythm 'n' Greens on Blu-ray
Not So Permissive: The Lovers! on Blu-ray
Uncomfortable Truths: Three Shorts by Andrea Arnold on MUBI
The Call of Nostalgia: Ghostbusters Afterlife on Blu-ray
Moon Night - Space 1999: Super Space Theater on Blu-ray
Super Sammo: Warriors Two and The Prodigal Son on Blu-ray
Sex vs Violence: In the Realm of the Senses on Blu-ray
What's So Funny About Brit Horror? Vampira and Bloodbath at the House of Death on Arrow
Keeping the Beatles Alive: Get Back
   
 
  One of These Days Truck On, Truck Off
Year: 2020
Director: Bastian Gunther
Stars: Carrie Preston, Joe Cole, Callie Hernandez, Devyn A. Tyler, Cullen Moss, Lucy Faust, Jesse C. Boyd, Lara Grice, Lynne Ashe, Jared Bankens, Clyde Risley Jones, Sam Malone, Billy Slaughter, Richie Montgomery, Alexander Biglane, Evan Henderson
Genre: DramaBuy from Amazon
Rating:  7 (from 1 vote)
Review: There's a contest in this small Texan town that has been running for the past ten years. The idea is simple: a raffle is held to select the participants, then they assemble around a brand new, state of the art pick-up truck and place one or both hands on it. They are not allowed to lean on it, and if they stop placing their hands on it while not during one of the hourly breaks, they will be disqualified. The last person standing with their palms on the truck is the winner, and Kyle Parson (Joe Cole) has just been informed he has been given a chance to win, something he really needs right now to support his fast-food job and his wife Maria (Callie Hernandez) and baby son. But competition will be fierce...

This is a real competition, and indeed had already been the subject of a documentary as well as the source of television coverage - in Britain, Channel 5 broadcast it with local contestants to dwindling viewing figures despite the professionalism of presenter Dale Winton, but even he struggled to make it interesting. This, you might think, did not bode well for a two-hour movie about this subject, but German writer and director Bastian Gunther conjured up a twist or two for his fictionalised version that were genuinely surprising if you were not paying attention. Although British actor Cole appeared to be the lead character, for instance, the actual protagonist was Joan (Carrie Preston) who was the car dealership's public relations representative.

We get to learn quite a bit about Joan, far more than we really needed to when you would think the truck business was more than adequate as a plotline. She lives with her increasingly senile mother, her daughter has flown the nest to study at college, her boyfriend who has not been taking her seriously as a relationship is now settling down with someone else, and most of all she is desperately lonely. It's as if everyone is in some kind of crisis in America of a personal uniqueness, that nevertheless amounts to a shared experience of mass trauma they cannot bring themselves to admit to with others, and to coin a phrase, something's gotta give. Joan's pathetic claim that the truck contest is a "blast" is not one shared by the film, which regards it as a depressing example of how bad times can bring out the worst in too many people.

There are a mix of personalities around the vehicle for the big day (and night), some modest and Godfearing, others bullish and aggressive, some just plain nuts, but they're all determined and convinced they will be driving away the truck (after some sleep, one hopes). Gunther adopted a steadily heightened, woozy, at times hallucinatory style that only intensifies as the plot progresses, so much so that the audience may share the character's confusion about what is actually happening. The cast were up to the challenge, separating vaguely into heroes and villains, but be warned you may like a lie down in a darkened room after watching if you feel the depiction of bone deep fatigue getting to you. Cole was fine, but took a curious extended flashback coda to have us understand his inner life somewhat better than the preceding hour forty-five, and even then, there was a note of surrealism to confound us a little more. Preston, no matter that it felt we knew more about her than necessary, was the real heart of the movie, but the narrative was a shade broken backed as a result. Better than you would expect, for all that.

[ONE OF THESE DAYS will release on EST platforms including Sky and Amazon from 2nd May. The DVD/ TVOD release date set for 16th May 2022.]
Reviewer: Graeme Clark

 

This review has been viewed 1297 time(s).

As a member you could Rate this film

 
Review Comments (0)


Untitled 1

Login
  Username:
 
  Password:
 
   
 
Forgotten your details? Enter email address in Username box and click Reminder. Your details will be emailed to you.
   

Latest Poll
Which star probably has psychic powers?
Laurence Fishburne
Nicolas Cage
Anya Taylor-Joy
Patrick Stewart
Sissy Spacek
Michelle Yeoh
Aubrey Plaza
Tom Cruise
Beatrice Dalle
Michael Ironside
   
 
   

Recent Visitors
Mary Sibley
Enoch Sneed
Darren Jones
Mark Le Surf-hall
  Louise Hackett
Andrew Pragasam
Graeme Clark
  Desbris M
   

 

Last Updated: