Dragged Across Concrete

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In sharp contrast to the wall-to-wall kinetic-driven nature of action films in general; Dragged Across Concrete is a well-paced crime film.

The role of smartphone shot video dragged it kicking and screaming into the modern day via Rodney King.

The film reminded me of a number of others:

• The Usual Suspects and Magnolia for its multi-threaded plot. It was interesting to see how the director managed to drop some threads sooner than others
• Quentin Tarantino for his emphasis on dialogue, even to the point of awkwardness. And the resurrection of Don Johnson as a film star – which worked really well in this film
• Michael Mann’s Heat for the meticulous planning of the crime and the way Gibson’s character continuously weighed up his options in terms of probability. It was kind of like being inside the head of the DeNiro character in Heat

Dragged Across Concrete owes a lot to Spaghetti Westerns with its stand offs pacing and anti-heroes. All action comes with consequences which is very unlike the fireworks of Hollywood. It owes more to the realism of Sergio Corbucci‘s action films.

There are odd moments like the gimp masked thug who finances the robbery van by robbing a pawn shop and convenience store. More film reviews here.