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Cop Car

Cop Car: Surprisingly Entertaining, Slow-Burning Thriller

  • Camryn ManheimHays Wellford...
  • Thriller
  • Jon Watts
reviewed by
Marija Loncarevic
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Cop Car: Surprisingly Entertaining, Slow-Burning Thriller

Jon Watts’ minimalistic approach to his second feature film, a solidly and an effectively executed simmering thriller named Cop Car, is both beautiful to look at and pleasantly unnerving to watch. With a story stripped off of unnecessary narrative snags and needless complications, Watts – who also co-wrote the script with Christopher D. Ford- has been given room to live in the moment and explore the notions of youth – and the consequences of its mischiefs – against a wonderfully envisioned Coen Brother-like backdrop of thrills and slow-burning suspense. 

The film opens up with two young – we’re thinking ten year old – runaway boys, Travis (Freedson-Jackson) and Harrison (Wellford), aimlessly walking through the vast Coloradoan wilderness, practicing curse words and searching for an adventure.  Making their way on foot through the open wasteland, the boys soon hit the mother lode of discoveries; an abandoned police car, complete with keys and loaded guns.

Unable to resist the temptation, the boys – who are initially afraid and don’t really know what to do with their find – soon jump in and decide to take it for a joyride around the countryside. Little do they know, however, that the police car belongs to Sheriff Kretzer (the fantastically edgy Kevin Bacon) who has left his car unattended to take care of some dirty business and who will stop at nothing to get it back.

While the slow-building pace, vast open spaces of nothingness and moments of complete and utter silence may come across as a little dreary to some, there is a certain kind of beauty behind Watt’s purposefully restraint and unpretentious approach that cannot be ignored. Capturing the innocence and the naivety of two young boys, who, just like any other two boys their age, have a wild imagination and are constantly looking out for ways to indulge into their boyish fantasies, a particular kind of authenticity can be found in their representation that not only induces some comically charming moments, but, also holds the power to sadden.

Both Freedson-Jackson and Wellford are superb and, most importantly, believable as the two young friends who have managed to get themselves tangled up in an unknowingly dangerous game of cat and mouse. Bacon, meanwhile, is outstanding as the jittery and easily-irritable Sheriff, whose creepy ways and bullying nature bubble just beneath the surface, threating to explode at any minute. Frankly, it’s awfully hard to imagine anyone else taking on the role.   

Murder, lies and corruption, seen through the eyes of two seemingly innocent young souls, is sitting at the very core of the story. Driven by gorgeous visuals and a constant sense of unease, Cop Car is refreshing and an effortlessly entertaining little thriller.

Like This? Try

Mud (2012), The Client (1994), Shotgun Stories (2007)

360 Tip

Jon Watts is among the names being considered for the director's position for Marvel Studios' upcoming Spider-Man reboot which is due to be released sometime in 2017. 

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