Plot Summary: Centers on a temporary small-town sheriff who uncovers dark mysteries after a local bank robbery.

Director: Ben Wheatley

Writers: Derek Kolstad, Bob Odenkirk

Runtime: 1 hour 31 mins

Main Cast:

• Bob Odenkirk as Ulysses Richardson
• Ryan Allen as Deputy Blaine Anderson
• Billy MacLellan as Deputy Mike Nelson
• Lena Headey as Moira
• Henry Winkler as Mayor Kibner

Review by: Samuel

Starring Bob Odenkirk and directed by Ben Wheatley, “Normal” takes place in a town of the same name. Odenkirk stars as Ulysses Richardson, an interim sheriff who has come to town to fill in for a week after the previous sheriff passed away. After a bank robbery in town goes wrong, Ulysses uncovers a secret about the town that puts him at odds with the townsfolk. Now he must fight to survive and escape. 

What I Liked:

Bob Odenkirk does it again. He’s a really good lead and a really REALLY good man in this film. He came to town as an interim sheriff, a job he could just ease on through, but he doesn’t. The first half hour of the film introduces us to him, his eccentric (and rude) community members, and his style of dealing with them as he goes along his beat. It was both entertaining and endearing to watch him deal with this new community, who had no reason to respect him, a stranger. He could have matched their energy and handed out tickets/arrests, but he decides to listen and de-escalate as best he can. One of my favorite moments comes when he writes a ticket for someone parked illegally. When the car’s owner comes out in a rush and is disappointed, she reads the ticket to find a note that says “please park better.”  I thought it was brilliant to sprinkle moments like these in the beginning of the film to get us on the new sheriff’s side and root for him. 

While not as skilled or brutal as his character in “Nobody,” Ulysses can hold his own. Meaning the action scenes, for the most part, are entertaining. This is especially true in his one-on-one confrontations when the space for the action is confined to one room. It’s in these moments that we get those beautiful wide-angle shots where cuts are limited, and you see the violence in all its glory. 

The action outside of this isn’t bad- it’s just familiar. He’s gunning down rows of people like you’ve seen time and time before. Though I will say that some of those deaths were really fun to watch, including one that involved the use of flares and sticks of dynamite. 

What I Didn’t Like: 

3 things made me not really enjoy this film 

1. I am someone who cannot let a fundamental flaw go. If something germane to the plot is a little off, it will stick with me for the runtime. And in this film, it is WHY Ulysses is even in the town to begin with. As the synopsis states, he is brought in as an interim sheriff. But if you are a town with a secret, why on Earth would you allow a stranger in? There is an entire sheriff’s department that they could have picked from, rather than exposing themselves to an outsider. Doing this only increased the risk they would be exposed, and the fact that the film never gave a good reason for it bugged me.
2. Every character outside of Bob Odenkirk’s Ulysses has no depth. None! I honestly challenge anyone who has seen the film to recall the names of the mayor, bartender, sheriff’s daughter, and deputy sheriffs. I know I can’t. We spend significant time with some of these people, but they are more caricatures than characters- which is why I remember their professions and not their names. 
3. The tone of this movie is just off. The characters are so eccentric that they are borderline corny. When the film starts, and you see how silly the characters are, you get a sense that this will be an unserious film, perfect for turning your brain off. But then it cuts to a pretty heartfelt voiceover from Odenkirk’s Ulysses as he is leaving a voicemail for his estranged wife. A few minutes later, it’s silly again, and then it tries to ground itself. This constant back and forth between tones is more than jarring. 

Images Courtesy of IMDB