Co-composer/writer/director S. Craig Zahler’s third film is the latest addition to his recent winning streak—one that seemed to come out of nowhere in 2015 with the horror western Bone Tomahawk and continued in 2017 with the prison thriller Brawl in Cell Block 99. Slow burning, character driven, and emotionally brutal with shocking bursts of supreme violence, the recently released Dragged Across Concrete further expands upon and refines the director’s now-trademark style.
Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn are at their best as two racist cops, chewing up Zahler’s meaty and wonderfully non-PC dialogue with ease. After they are suspended for using excessive force on a suspect, Brett (Gibson) enlists his younger partner, Anthony (Vaughn), to help him steal from criminals so he can care for his ailing wife and teenaged daughter.
Tory Kittles, in what should be a breakout performance for the effortlessly engaging actor, is the third lead in the film—the one trailers and posters aren’t particularly highlighting. His portrayal of Henry, an ex-con caught between murderous criminals and crooked cops, is the film’s heart. Like Brett, Henry also has to care for his poverty-stricken family. His struggles provide the film with the point of view to which Brett and Anthony are tragically blind—not to mention critics who have attacked the film for supposedly celebrating extreme right wing ideals.
The story is simple and direct, but Zahler’s execution is complex and meditative. The film could have easily lost an hour of its two-hour and forty-minute runtime—but not without also losing its greatest assets. Most films of this nature skim the surface of their events, whereas Zahler dwells, drawing out moments and focusing on character to provide a fuller and more detailed picture.
Before a bank robbery occurs in the film, we get a random glimpse into the life of a bank teller (a brief but great performance by Jennifer Carpenter), heartbroken about leaving her newborn at home on her first day back from maternity leave at work. While the brief shift in focus adds nothing to the narrative, it adds everything to the weight of the film’s emotional atmosphere.
Every one of the characters lives and breathes, complete with arcs and backstories that make us view the film from multiple angles. There are no villains or victims in Zahler’s world—only tragic and complicated participants to unfolding events completely beyond their control. They’re all heroes within their own points of view, and part of what makes Dragged Across Concrete so great is that it takes the time to examine them all.
Though it definitely has its moments, Dragged Across Concrete doesn’t quite match the physical brutality of Zahler’s previous (and gore-drenched) efforts. The emotional intensity of the film more than makes up for it, however. The violence is an extension of the characters’ struggles and weaknesses, not gut-churning spectacle. As great as Zahler’s other films are, there’s a grounded maturity and subtlety to this film that propels it towards the next level of his evolution as a filmmaker. Dragged Across Concrete is a thoughtful and fierce film, and a further continuation of S. Craig Zahler’s seemingly limitless talent.
GRADE: A
