Dreamy Pear

So I just saw Free Fire, directed by Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump. I was excited going into this film, as I know all of their previous work has received high acclaim for being very smart films, and subversions of every genre they tackle. While I’ve only seen High Rise as yet, I agree that Wheatley and Jump fit the bill for that film perfectly. 

Free Fire is a film about a gun deal gone wrong. There’s really not much more point in explaining anything else in the plot, everything is pretty standard, though the movie never feels predictable as it throws enough different factors at the audience they’re never quite sure what to focus on. This can also work against the film however and make it a little confusing.

The first gunfight in particular is edited like a lot of bad action films, with only one clear character taken down until there’s a soft reset, which happens after the initial skirmish. Luckily from there, the action is tense, and fantastically directed. Once the fighting breaks out, everybody respositions themselves so as give the audience a clearer sense of geography and sides, which allows the action to be innovative without needing to get very crazy. That said, it can still end up being unclear everybody’s exact position, and particularly where they’re aiming.

The characters are probably the strongest point of this film. From the first 10 minutes you know who everybody is (even if names are a little elusive.) Sharlto Copley is incredible as an ‘International Asshole’ and the catalyst for much of what goes down, Brie Larson is great, even if she doesn’t talk much and Babou Ceesay is a standout, even though he misses a majority of the film. Everybody else is believable if a little cliched in their characters, and though Arnie Hammer hams it up a little (fitting, considering his name), he’s enjoyable to watch as his personality clashes hilariously with everyone else.

The film quickly cripples most of the characters, and after the initial skirmish, several of them take drugs to help relax, which explains the confined location and inaccurate shooting, and while this is very smart, even the experienced gunfighters who make it to the end seem surprisingly incompetent with guns. (Then again having no experience with actual guns, maybe I’m overestimating everybody’s ability). 

Confining the film so much also ends up making it feel somewhat like a bottle episode of a TV show. While the gunplay is good, and the other elements used to make action tense are effective, I can’t help but feel the film is limited by having all the character be essentially immobile for the majority of the film. This didn’t ruin the film for me, but I walked away somewhat disappointed there wasn’t more.