The Big Ugly
“God. Land. Oil. It’s often said [that] war is waged for just these three.” That line is the first thing audiences hear in The Big Ugly — a garbled, derivative UK-meets-U.S. gangster flick set in rural West Virginia. It’s the kind of film that yearns to land somewhere between the quick wit of Guy Ritchie and the down-to-earth sensibility of indie auteurs, but it’s too lost in its own machismo to be either.
Vinnie Jones (Snatch) stars as Neelyn, the strongman for an English mob boss (Malcolm McDowell), who finds himself in John Denver’s favorite state to close an oil deal worth $25 million. Everything seems to be going as planned until his girlfriend Fiona (British TV actress Lenora Crichlow) goes missing after a night of drinking with someone connected to the other half of the deal. Neelyn must choose between keeping things professional and making them personal, which proves increasingly difficult.
Representing the U.S. mob with charisma and a cool cowboy hat is Preston (Ron Perlman), a no-fuss bad guy whose likability is only surpassed by his power. He’s a man who believes in God and his country that shames racists and practices understanding at every turn. His son Junior (Brandon Sklenar, Vice) is the polar opposite: a power-hungry antagonist who places his personal pleasure above everything, including the family business.
Rounding out the cast is Succession’s Nicholas Braun and legendary character actor Bruce McGill, both of whom serve under Preston. They are the only Americans with souls, though neither would be quick to admit it.
There is nearly 10 minutes of narration from Jones before the story even begins. Most of it details everything that happened before the characters meet and is almost never revisited. The rest is a bunch of ego-driven drivel about the reasons bad men take risks and the complicated webs we weave. Not a word of it is original, but Jones’ voice helps sell it.
Once underway, the core story longs to be dark and gritty, but instead comes across heavy-handed and under lit. Stiff dialogue is spoken by capable actors dressed like northern good ol’ boys while a southern rock soundtrack attempts to sell the “small town energy” of it all. The needlessly complicated structure undoes a straightforward revenge thriller by adding extended sequences of people exchanging cold stares over warm beer. It’s mean to make crime seem more refined than the action of Junior, but in execution it makes everything dull.
Scott Wiper, who wrote and directed The Big Ugly, suffers from a classic lack of focus. His story has at least a dozen characters, each with a specific backstory that’s detailed through narration or exposition, and multiple plot lines. The first is the oil deal, which is a cut-and-dried mob story. The second is Neelyn’s search for answers and vengeance, which influences the other main narrative and generates ripples throughout the character arcs of every person in the film. The third involves a second love triangle between Junior, Will, and the woman Will adores. Neither of them are good enough to stand on their own, but together they offer something slightly worthwhile, albeit familiar.
The title The Big Ugly refers to a landmark in the area where the film takes place, but it’s also a fitting description of the film itself. There’s a lot of story here — far too much for a filmmaker known specifically for action-heavy features — and it’s delivered in the least accessible manner possible. Not a single dramatic beat lands, and the story is structured so clumsily that the rare instances of action carry virtually no weight. It’s too much and not enough at the same time, which makes it as big and ugly as any feature in recent memory.
Grade: D-plus. Rated R. Available to rent via Amazon Video, iTunes, and other streaming services
(Photo: Vertical Entertainment)
