REVIEW: Rebel Ridge [2024]

Rating: TV-MA | Runtime: 131 minutes
Release Date: September 6th, 2024 (USA)
Studio: Netflix
Director(s): Jeremy Saulnier
Writer(s): Jeremy Saulnier

A deal’s a deal.

It’s a fantastic opening scene. Officer Evan Marston (David Denman) revs his engine to rear-end cyclist Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre) into a full-on wipeout crash onto the pavement. Before the latter even clocks what’s happening, the former is on him with cuffs out while relaying over his walkie talkie that the pursuit has ended. Terry has no clue what he’s talking about. He didn’t even know someone else was on the road. Why? Because his metal mix was blaring in his ears—a legitimate no-no when it comes to operating a road-worthy vehicle beholden to traffic laws. Did it warrant this level of violence, though? No.

Add the obvious racial aspect of Marston and his partner (Emory Cohen’s Officer Steve Lann) being white cops and Terry being Black and the whole situation carries a level of uncertainty where intent and force are concerned. Because maybe they had probable cause (although riding a bike while Black doesn’t suddenly make you a suspect when a random bike gets stolen). Maybe they should question the validity of Richmond’s story that the thirty-six thousand dollars in his backpack is to bail out his cousin considering there are countless better ways to transport so much through an obviously aggressive hick town. They still could have corroborated his story before confiscating it.

Writer/director Jeremy Saulnier can’t let them, though, because it’s not about justice. It’s about exploiting the law for a chance to add that money to the department’s discretionary budget. As law clerk Summer McBride (AnnaSophia Robb) explains, getting it back once it’s been impounded would cost Terry more in legal fees than it’s worth. So, Chief Sandy Burnne’s (Don Johnson) men bank on never being called out on their scam. Richmond isn’t their usual target, though. He’s on a clock since his cousin is about to be transferred to a prison with inmates who know he snitched on their boss. He doesn’t care if Burnne takes the cash as long as he also keeps his cousin safe.

In a perfect world, Rebel Ridge is over in thirty minutes. Burnne satisfies his greed and Terry protects his family until the trial gets dismissed with what everyone seems to agree are trumped-up charges. Well, this isn’t a perfect world and that threat of racial disharmony is only exacerbated when the white perpetrator feels he’s been called out and “given a favor” by his victim while those under his command are watching. So, instead of doing the smart thing and making this as much of a win-win scenario as it can be, Burnne escalates things further. Why? Because he doesn’t fully understand Richmond’s military jacket. He doesn’t realize who it is he’s cornered.

The First Blood vibes are obvious. Here’s a veteran just trying to live his life when he gets roped into a conflict he didn’t want but has the ability to win. And just like that opening scene exists in a gray area as far as legality is concerned, so too do the “compromises” presented afterwards once Terry is forced to reveal his true might. Yes, he’s offered a way out, but what is the silence of that arrangement actually hiding? That they used excessive force and stole his money? Or that Terry, and his cousin for that matter, isn’t the only one who’s suffered by their hands? This very quickly shifts from a wronged party seeking justice to a full-blown conspiracy he’s in the position of burning to the ground.

Equal parts suspense thriller gathering evidence and action film relying on close-up combat that never threatens deadly force until the inevitable finale, Saulnier’s script is always moving us forward with high stakes scenarios that cannot be subdued without a fight. That’s why there’s always a clock whether it be Terry’s cousin’s transport, Summer’s career, or his own life. He doesn’t have the time or space to figure out a better option beyond going straight through. And while the opposition thinks they are up to the task (via inflated egos and lopsided numbers), they eventually find themselves getting in their own way. Or, I should say, in Burnne’s way. Because they’re all expendable to him.

Johnson is very good. Rather than a flashy villain, his Burnne is calm and cool. He doesn’t think he has to worry because he’s kept a lid on his activities so long and with so many accomplices that a sneeze would trigger mutually assured destruction. Even when his back is against the wall, he believes he’s able to both survive and trick his opponent into giving up the upper-hand. It’s why making Terry an outsider is critical to the whole. He has no vested interest in any of it until they give him a reason. If Pierre wasn’t already on his way to stardom (his casting as John Stewart in “Lanterns” would agree), this performance will pave the way. It provides the chance to showcase his compassion from Brothers and the physicality Hollywood adores. He delivers on both.