Jungleland

In Jungleland, an aspiring fighter and his overbearing brother find themselves involved with a human trafficking operation while en route to a life-changing event. It's a bold new take on the classic underdog story that features a career-best performance from Charlie Hunnam, but uneven pacing often threatens to soil an otherwise engrossing experience.

Stanley (Hunnam) and Lion (Jack O'Connell, Starred Up) are brothers living on the edge of society. They have no dreams, no home, and almost no money. The only thing keeping them alive is a shared dream of prosperity built on Lion's rising career in underground boxing. It's a tether that keeps the brothers together even as their motivations pull in opposite directions. Lion wants to be an entrepreneur with a dry cleaning business, but Stanley just wants out of the debt he's amassed.

Following a run-in with local gangster Pepper (Jonathon Majors, Da 5 Bloods), the brothers are given a solution to all their problems. If they win a major fight on the other side of the country, they can earn enough to start a new life. The only catch is that they must also transport a young woman, Sky (Jessica Barden, The Lobster), to another criminal for undisclosed reasons. Stanley, desperate to clear his name, agree. Lions argues, “How low can we go?”

And so the three unlikely companions set off on a cross-country trek that mines their troubles for dramatic tension. Jungleland is a road movie obsessed with detours, and each stop is followed by a prolonged series of escalating arguments that create deep divides between the characters. More often than not, these encounters take place in public, which makes the contrast between the lives of the protagonists and us “normal” people abundantly clear. For them, fighting is a way of life, and most battles are handled with words instead of hands. It’s an interesting portrayal of people caught in a struggle for their lives, but it crackles thanks to razor-sharp dialogue from screenwriters Max Winkler, Theodore Bressman, and David Branson Smith.

Going deeper into the plot is a disservice to the film. Nothing goes as planned, but from those setbacks comes substantial character development that provides the core trio with plenty of material to showcase their talent. Many movies struggle to provide one intriguing character arc, but Jungleland offers three, and each one is distinct. Hunnam may steal the show, but O'Connell and Barden are close behind.

A consequence of focusing on characters over plot, however, is that Jungleland often falls into long stretches where very little happens outside of conversations. It's a choice that may leave some viewers asking why a movie that leans heavily on its boxing elements for promotion doesn't feature much actual fighting. Still, it's a decision that ultimately makes for a more memorable adventure.

Still, mileage will vary from viewer to viewer. 2020 is a challenging year, and it's hard to know if audiences are ready to spend 90 minutes watching three people in tough situations fall into even worse ones with little to no sense of hope. If Jungleland has any lessons to share, it's that existence is pain, and the only thing that can bring even a sliver of solace to the calamity of being is the company we keep. We are all we have, even if our combined worth is very little.

Grade: B-plus. Rated R. Available to rent via Amazon Video, iTunes and other streaming servies

(Photo: Romulus Entertainment)