THE STORY – Centers on a temporary small-town sheriff who uncovers dark mysteries after a local bank robbery.
THE CAST – Bob Odenkirk, Henry Winkler & Lena Headey
THE TEAM – Ben Wheatley (Director), Derek Kolstad & Bob Odenkirk (Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME – 90 Minutes
Sometimes a little bit of normalcy is all we need in life. But those who decide to show up to Ben Wheatley’s “Normal” will receive anything but. And that’s too bad for Ulysses (Bob Odenkirk), the interim sheriff of this film’s titular Minnesota town. The more time he spends amongst these Minnesota locals, the less they become perceived as the aloof “Fargo” caricatures many picture them as. But that’s not to say this film is devoid of any of that sort of humor. On the contrary, it embraces those preconceieved notions to have a lot of fun with the carnage that’s to come.
Working with “John Wick” creator and “Nobody” screenwriter Derek Kolstad, Wheatley opens his film about the strangely quiet nature of small towns across America in the neon-lit bustle of Osaka. The energy of this film kicks off with a bang, as a Black Sabbath song soundtracks a gang of Yakuza members facing punishment. And just as we brace ourselves for an onslaught of further bloodshed, Wheatley whisks us away to quiet normalcy. He sets his sights on the aptly-titled Normal, Minnesota, where Ulysses hopes to leave it the same way he found it. He’s not looking to shake anything up in this town. He merely wants to collect his paycheck while trying to piece his life back together amidst the nightmares from his past which haunt him.
Describing the plot of “Normal” admittedly makes it sound quite barebones, and that’s because it sort of is. But there’s an interesting angle it can be examined from. Paired with the fun mayhem that’s to come, Wheatley’s distinctly British-tinged view of small-town America is a comical sight to behold. In the minds of this filmmaking team there seems to be a single question bouncing around in their minds: what is going on across the vast majority of America? Beyond the handful of major cities, there’s just so much land. Think of the countless one-off towns isolated from major highways with populations that barely hit four digits. Surely something must be going on in these places. If not, how could anybody stand the quiet where nothing but “low-stakes shenanigans” in the form of neighborly disputes are the most exciting events that happen? Perhaps life is easier that way, but the mundanity is undeniable. It’s not an element of the town the film judges, but it certainly remains acutely aware of the possible implications. And Ulysses must be feeling that sentiment pretty hard if his droning narration is any indication. So the only question that remains is what happens when that quiet is interrupted? “Normal” certainly has an answer for its audience. And it all exists in the dark undertones that this film, and this town, is founded atop.
In time, we begin to learn more about why Ulysses is in town in the first place. Wheatley and Kolstad use this backstory to inject a fair amount of darkness into their film. It’s what drives Ulysses to border on indifference a lot of the time. He just appears tired and over his head with the locals and all their intricacies. This is a very rapidly paced 90-minute film. One might imagine that, provided with some additional runtime, more of Ulysses’ drive could be explored. In some cases, he actively tries to do good police work. But it’s also repeatedly shown that the local deputies would much rather take charge and handle things their own way. They know one another, so there’s no need to shake things up when everything has an easy fix. After all, just because towns like these exist off the radar for so many doesn’t mean the people within them can’t also contain multitudes of human behavior. There’s a darkness amongst these people as showcased by the vitriol some spew at one another over the slightest of ridiculous disagreements. It’s a clear counter to the charming “Fargo” image many viewers will likely have in their heads, especially upon seeing the clear homage Wheatley and Kolstad include to that 1996 film. And just as these locals have a darker edge to them, so does Ulysses.
This dark turn allows Odenkirk the opportunity to flex his more dramatic chops. It also lends credence to the themes of the script. Kolstad seems quite interested in exploring the dark underbelly of America that’s still actively hiding itself from the light. It’s this idea that paints the normalcy of the town in such a strange light. Surely, something must be going on considering the state of the world at this point. And it’s not very long before Wheatley and Kolstad deliver on that secret. Upon its unveiling, mayhem arrives with several bangs and never really lets up. Within minutes, once bumbling comic-relief police officers begin unloading on innocent townsfolk, bodies literally explode into clouds of squibs and chunks of meat, and nobody seems safe from the carnage. Despite the armory present in the police precinct, this town was never adequately prepared for such mayhem. In a way, it feels somewhat reminiscent of 1976’s excellent “Assault on Precinct 13,” except on a larger scale. It’s a comparison the film should lean into more. It moves around a bit too quickly for its own good, but there are their own share of benefits that come with such rapid pacing and shifts in setting. A major one is the fun that can be had with such varied Americana iconography.
Normal is such a small town that it feels like it got lost in time. The ice cream shop, which serves as a temporary base of operations, is adorned with neon signs, vintage construction materials and serveware, and an employee donning the classic uniform we all think of (hat and all). There’s a store which exclusively sells yarn in every color of the spectrum. Small-town America becomes quite the playground for Wheatley’s cinematic lunacy and action fodder. These locations all serve as settings for blockbuster bombast handled on a mid-budget scale. It’s an exciting prospect for genre fans, and this film is more than marketable enough to hopefully have many flock to theaters to support it. The canon of Odenkirk-action vehicles is one that should continue to grow as this has a particularly harsher tinge to it than the “Nobody” franchise. In him, we’ve got a fun actor who audiences love and who can indeed do both! As “Normal” barrels toward its conclusion, it’s easy to look past the way it glosses over in-depth characterization. Ultimately, this is a film about rediscovering a sense of fulfillment. And for fans of genre-heavy action sequences, this one will certainly get the job done.
