CUT BANK: TWIST OF FATE

Movie fans have loved the movies of Alfred Hitchcock for decades. He was noted for suspense filled films that kept you guessing not only for the whodunit aspect of the movie but for the twists and turns in the plots that had you making the wrong guesses as to the outcome. This has come to be known as a McGuffin, the definition of which is “…a device or plot element in a movie that is deliberately placed to catch the viewer's attention and/or drive the logic of the plot, but which actually serves no further purpose”. His best example of this was PSYCHO where for almost a third of the movie you thought it concerned a woman stealing money but in the end was about a young man who was a serial killer.

Many directors have tried to follow in Hitchcock’s footsteps trying to create that same atmosphere while adding McGuffin’s of their own. Most fail tremendously so. But on occasion there are some that get it perfect. Such is the case with the movie CUT BANK.

Liam Hemsworth is Dwayne McClaren, a young mechanic who works for Big Stan (Billy Bob Thornton) while at the same time dating Stan’s daughter Cassandra (Teresa Palmer). As Cassandra rehearses for a local beauty pageant in a field just outside of town, Dwayne is videotaping her performance. Unnoticed by both is a mail truck parked nearby but as someone walks up and shoots mail carrier George Wits (Bruce Dern), Dwayne and Cassandra duck down. Caught on tape they immediately take the video to local sheriff Vogel (John Malkovich).

The evidence is clear that Wits was murdered. Dwayne goes to the post office to apply for the reward money the goes to anyone who turns in evidence of a postal worker being murdered. And here is where the first of several McGuffin’s pops up. If you’d rather watch than hear this one stop reading now and just go watch this movie, it is worth your time. SPOILER ALERT: It turns out that Wits isn’t dead at all and that this is a scam propagated by Wits and Dwayne so that Dwayne can take the money and leave the small town of Cut Bank, MT, along with Cassandra (who is unaware of the scam).

That’s when the next twist happens. Among the packages that were to be delivered that day was a parcel addressed to Derby Milton (Michael Stuhlberg), a package he deemed important enough that he goes looking for it. Finding clues on his own this strange little man follows one to the next in the hopes of finding that parcel. What was in it? No one knows nor finds out until the end of the film.

The movie takes it’s time revealing each and every plot line that stems from one to the next but never so as to be boring. Instead it meticulously lays out all sorts of stories that pass each other from time to time but never intersect until the end of the film. That a movie can accomplish that in this day and age when we’ve seen nearly every story told on film makes this one special. It holds your interest, keeps you guessing and in the end brings everything around full circle for a satisfactory conclusion.

The performances in the film are wonderful to behold. Billy Bob Thornton might not have a ton of screen time here but his character is at first easy to access and understand due to his acting skills. Hemsworth shows that he’s not just another pretty face and Palmer plays the innocent part to perfection. Best of all here is Malkovich who turns in yet another quirky performance that is so much more low key than anything I’ve seen him in before. Between him and Stuhlberg as the misfit Derby Milton you have two performances that make the film.

While I’ve noted Hitchcock here there is another set of directors that this movie is bound to find comparison with and that’s the Coen brothers. If you’ve ever seen the movie FARGO then you’ll know these two. Between the setting of a small Midwestern town, the involvement of a sheriff and the plot device of several twists and turns the comparison are going to happen. Just note that this movie is as original as FARGO was and while offering similar items is not a copy at all. Instead it’s a solid mystery that will keep you guessing until the final moments of the film. On top of that it entertains as well making this movie one that not only needs to be seen but possibly be added to your collection.

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