He Went That Way
He Went That Way
In the middle of Jeffrey Darling’s crime thriller He Went That Way, I … was in this particular scene that I have to battle most of the time through my anger trying to convince myself that this genre-mashup is “just a movie.” In the film now, Bobby Falls the 19 year old serial killer had just fulfilled a promise and shown the captive good intentions towards Jim Goodwin, his latest captive. It’s the sort of scene which seemed rather cheap sleaze.” I was somewhere waiting for some hunky appeal with a lot of boring clichés like people can change and all. Thankfully, this never came to pass, but the film’s quality did not get better.
One of the Hollywood’s big stars, Zachary Quinto portrays the role of Jim Goodwin, an animal trainer who is also a celebrity and is on the move with a TV chimp Spanky to the city of Chicago from across the states. In the process, he meets with a young man called Bobby Falls (Jacob Elordi) who is looking for a ride to Michigan to see his ex girlfriend in a bid to convince her that he has made something out of himself after their separation. Bobby is also one sick individual that happens to be a serial killer. One that gets uncomfortable from killing without playing with the life of a victim hence the rush kill. Deep inside Bobby however, is a kindness that is merely waiting for the right moment and the right person to come by.
Well, that is how we are meant to believe in He Went That Way – one of those based on the true event films. In the year of 1964, a serial killer by the name of Larry Lee Ranes went on a short cruise across the United States and during the three day period, he seems to develop attachment on one of his captives. It is set during the Vietnam War, and there was little kindness from the people, as it is quite clear from the beginning screenwriter Evan M. Wiener. The film has already included some obvious such scenes since all films taken the creative freedom some level and if even does not carry this is a mosly true story disclaimer at the beginning of the feature.
He Went That Way can be described as an absolute train wreck’d from the start to the finish. Were it not for Quinto’s delightly sweet character, I would have probably stormed out of this one without hesitation. The screenplay is overambitious and it becomes like a hodgepodge of entirely unrelated concepts in the hopes that the end product makes sense. It does not help the situation that Quinto and Elordi don’t share an equal narrative ability. As the characters circled each other like cats and mice in a power play, it is Quinto who identical acting menacingly outclasses Elordi to the latter’s great chagrin. One would be tempted to say that the script was to be blamed for such an unbalance in performances, but I think this particular material might be too much for the latter.
Starling’s crime novel has a quite a good thriller premise, but helps himself indulge in sparing shifts within ms itself too often, that leads to Short instances of good or even great film being observed. But to develop this narrative in the direction of an emerging friendship that is capable of reforming even the most dangerous sociopath is repulsive and this is where the movie goes downhill. Furthermore, the movie is not only a wasted chance to address a social issue such as mental health (specially considering the time period) but it also does not do justice to some of the very disturbing actions (or more accurately inactions). Despite the emotional blackmail and weak excuses, He Went That Way is extremely illogical and survives merely on its funny idea.
As Quinto’s Jim Goodwin puts it, “there’s never a bad time to do the right thing.” However, throughout He Went That Way, the filmmakers did not seem to have that phrase in their heads as almost every choice looked bad. Was that the goal of the screenplay – to be understood as an ode to male bonding accompanied by a road trip across the US – is something we may never be able to answer. Still, the fact that one of the most sensitive issues in the film – mental health issues – is all but ignored in favor of proclaiming in one voice that even the worst of people can always find redemption and recover, is not a blunder, it is deliberate. Someone out there will appreciate this motion picture, but my best guess is that it will be the kind of movie that people will enjoy and immediately forget the following day.
He Went That Way was screened at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. The duration of the movie is 95 minutes and has no rating as of now.
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- Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Country: United States
- Director: Jeffrey Darling
- Cast: Zachary Quinto, Jacob Elordi, Patrick J. Adams, Troy Evans, Alexandra Doke, Erin Moore, Nicolette Doke, John Lee Ames
