The Passenger
Typically, if you are presented with a pair of roaming travelers in a road movie, you are meant to sympathize with at least one of them. Carter Smith’s “The Passenger” defiantly refuses this solace even as it undergoes, in a sickening, then inquisitive, and finally disappointing mannerisms, aberrations of extremes. “HI!” says the man in the fast food joints, who is known as ‘Tyrone the Cheeto’ he dominates the fast food job and is also an obscene nut collector “HI” the character responds to him with enthusiasm, Randy (Johnny Berchtold) would rather finish a day old cheeseburger that has been shoved in his mouth than confront a bully co-worker even when he has every reason to stand his ground. The other man is represented by Randy’s visage however also at times his mouthpiece in his valiant workmate normally mute Benson Kyle Gallner, who then murders employees at the Bayou Burger joint where he worked and only leaves Randy unharmed. After making him assist in taking the bodies and hiding them in the walk in cooler, Benson decides to spare Randy but insists he accompanies him.
These figures of nightmares Benson and Randy are depicted to be extremely adorned in the contrary direction. The main notion with it is also, because it goes to the streaming modern grindhouses anyway, that these Blumhouse characters do not obey these rules. Almost through out the movie it is such a pairing that is the bone of contention after the terrible first sequence and in place of any tension that has developed.
It’s not simply waiting lead to justice or any of that nonsense about “being a man” and other such cliches. It is not due to any clever strategy that Benson manages to control Randy while on their so-called friendly drives, but simply because Randy has laid down his dominion and bows to him. Benson simply does not have to think if being in close proximity to an open field or a phone would be setting him up. He knows in his heart of hearts that Randy would not dare cross him, would not call the cops. And he doesn’t.
For a long time, and longer than you would expect in the case of Jack Stanley’s script, the play utilizes this tactic, well, until it exhausts all first exclamatory modes of expression. In offering a distinctive type of discomfort in its character dynamics, it unashamedly embraces this largely spineless adult in this instance as one more challenge that the author of the story intends to present in relation to more common, more psychological aspects. Randy exclaims to Benson at last for what reason he is such a weak spar behind decision making. So enraged was Benson over such inaction that he told Randy he would help him find those who made him suffer – this consisted of the ex girlfriend who left him for poorer jungles after her pet cat died and the second grade teacher who he had unintentionally blinded half.
This consists of its two actions of physical opposite action where the focus is seen in the scenes , Berchtold hardly flinches as his captor appears to herd him, and his apparent delicate whimper is convincing other than that weeping is the only emotion he appears to wet.
In a similar vein, one can describe Benson as some kind of an oxygen pump constantly fueled by a mixture of adrenaline, anger, and god knows what else, emanating from Gallner’s fingers and in some carefully situated and, fortunately, short monologues. It must be said that “The Passenger” does not have Randy find redemption as The Magical Mass Shooter.
“The Passenger” did not have a grander outline, yet such a quest is fascinating more because of its different inspired pieces. Cinematographer Lyn Moncrief has several wonderful shots that consider negatively space and the increasingly more puzzling color scheme of the film to its advantage. Eric Nagy’s editing gives such shots a punch, he uses them as single utterances of the film’s subtexts of the fear, the control or the trauma, posing some challenges for the audience. On the whole the direction by Smith tends to be off centre, as is with the fluffy sweater that Benson chooses to wear halfway through or the bright neon purple in a climactic diner sequence.
However, even if this film fails to attain some great revelation during one of the most morbid paths, it has some sort of a great display of Gallner in particulars. He resembles a young Jack Nicholson in a sense that he is athletic and full of energy, yet this does not make him self-conscious about the famous grin of that great actor.
Nor does Gallner overreach with the intimidating figure that Benson is all too happy to adopt, more so as the plot has Benson’s head jutting in over Randy’s shoulder as he interacts with the two individuals from his history who have guaranteed that he will be scared. Gallner has so much ease in the character; there is so much that he can do, as we have seen in his other films, but he’s usually comfortable with the uncomfortable. “The Passenger” gives an insight into the career of Gallner that although he will not become an Oscar winner, he is likely to get roles that are not only more interesting but also more adventurous than that.
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