Texas Filmmaker Brett Bentman loves to bask his characters in Texan landscapes, capers, crime, and mischief. We’ve reviewed several of his films, from “90 Feet From Home” to “Copper Bill” to “The Rodeo Thief.” And while the plots change (excepting “90 Feet From Home,” a departure), the theme often remains the same: a down-on-his-luck thief resorts to some sort of caper to finally get on the straight and narrow. But, with his latest film, “Outlaw’s Buckle,” Bentman keeps the story tighter and closer to his chest. It still stars B22 Films favorite Thom Hallum; but, unlike some of his other works, Bentman keeps us guessing, mixing a serial killer threat with a deep Texas caper, and the effort is decidedly worth the effort.
To me, the hardest thing about “Outlaw’s Buckle” is that for most if it, it has but four characters, and for the first 20 minutes or so has only two. Thom Hallum plays Rollins, a correctional officer in a small jail where only one other, the exhibitionist ‘Jelly’ (an excellent Warren Gavitt) remains. The film opens with the things that make indie films work so well. We see Rollins navigating the humdrum life of working overnights at a boring minimum security prison. He pulls out his gun in fantasy, hoping for action. He loses a dollar in a vending machine. It’s things like this that set the mood; Hallum deals with a lot of silence and facial acting, something we haven’t seen too often from him before.
However, it isn’t long before ‘Adams,’ (Rachel G. Whittle) an officer from another prison transporting a serial killer stops by the jail. It’s raining hard outside; and if you’ve heard anything about Texas, rainstorms can often be nothing to scoff at. Rollins agrees to let her stow her prisoner at the jail until the storm passes. However, it isn’t long before he escapes, and the mood shifts from humdrum to tense and harrowing.
What works about “Outlaw’s Buckle,” is, for the first time, the film is confined to just this jail and just these players. It requires a lot of tight cinematography, and B22 favorite Anthony Gutierrez handles the camerawork well. He plays with a lot of red flashing lights, power outages, and dark corridors scored only by tense beats and thunder clapping outside. It creates an atmosphere, made all the more harrowing by just how dangerous we’ve seen the killer (Andy Arrasmith) to be.
I find myself in a bind here. There are a number of plot points that could be discussed; but, as the film has yet to premiere, I don’t want to spoil them. But suffice to say Bentman (the film’s sole writer as well as director) plays with many twists and turns. Just when you think you know where the film is going, it takes another turn. I initially found myself questioning this decision; the film is so creepy on its own, I felt the twists slightly superfluous. However, by the end I saw the film as the director likely intended it: a tale of murder, thievery, duplicity, and comeuppance where fate plays a stark role in its character’s outcomes.
The film’s writing is good, and it was nice to see Bentman play with backstories more here. He includes a ‘get-to-know-you’ scene between Hallum and Whittle that just works. Both actors are also apt. Hallum is content to play the same gruff, purposeful-thinking menace he usually plays in these films, and Whittle (with an extensive screen resume) is a tour-de-force, though I found her character slightly one-note as the film swings towards the dramatic.
But what I liked most about “Outlaw’s Buckle” is that it’s adventurous. It takes risks, and that’s the sign of a good indie film and a good indie filmmaker. It’s clear that Bentman is trying something new, and this will hopefully spell more risk-taking for the filmmaker. The actors follow suit, delivering a production that pulls you in. It’s also clear to me that B22 is trying to build a world with these films, and Bentman has his finger on the pulse of his version of modern Texas Westerns where the players aren’t so much lawless outlaws that are revered as legend, but hapless burn-outs who are looking for that ‘final score.’ There’s a bit of mischief, a bit of the criminal underbelly, and, I believe, lurking morals of the futility of living hard lives that have only one unavoidable conclusion.
At any rate, “Outlaw’s Buckle” is an entertaining film that watches well, and fits into Bentman’s world with ease. Do yourself a favor and catch this film. The movie will premiere on July 23rd at the ‘Deep in the Heart Film Festival‘ in Waco, Texas.
