‘Red Right Hand’ Review: Orlando Bloom Shines In A “Been There, Done That” Thriller

Eshom Nelms (Small Town Crime) and Ian Nelms (Waffle Street) their latest film won’t win the award for ‘most original and creative movie’. No, therefore the script by Jonathan Easley follows the ‘rural, wilderness crime thriller’ way too much to the letter. Whether that’s good or bad is still to be seen, but there’s one thing to be said for Red Right Hand. The movie does give Orlando Bloom the chance to deliver a strong performance.

The movie opens with many serene and beautiful nature scenes. The panning shots allow you to immerse yourself in the stunning landscape of the Appalachian Mountains. They also instantly show that both the sound and Johnny Derango’s (Fatman) cinematography perfectly convey the overall style of the movie and the authenticity of the story’s setting. After the brutal death of his sister, small-town criminal Cash (Bloom) turned his life around completely. He’s helping out his brother-in-law Finney (Scott Haze) and niece Savannah (Chapel Oaks) on their remote farm while finding forgiveness in front of God by attending many church ceremonies.

His mantra, ‘family, religion and protection’, guides him through a better life. Still, when Cash agrees to do a few final jobs for his former accomplice and local crime boss, Big Cat (Andie MacDowell) to pay off Finney’s debt, it becomes clear that his dark past as a criminal is still very present. Wherever he goes follows tragedy, death, and blood, and the slow-rise action makes room for very graphic and gory scenes. How far will Cash go to protect the ones he loves?

While the bodies are piling up, Red Right Hand shows the audience that it’s strong both thematically and performance-wise. Cash oozes rugged masculinity – with the burn mark on his right arm and the chiselled physique as the trademarks – but he slowly reveals his softer side when caring for Finney and Savanah. Bloom (Gran Turismo) embodies the different character traits of the out-of-retirement criminal exceptionally well. He doesn’t only nail the hard-earned southern accent and the outback looks (the make-up and clothing teams of this movie went all the way), but he also delivers both the violent scenes and the heartfelt moments in an equally great way.

Because of Bloom’s energetic and alluring performance, you instantly feel the many dilemmas Cash faces. Will the church and small-town community still accept him when they find out about his violence and his work for Big Cat? Does protecting his family make up for all the murders he committed? What’s justice deep down? The questions about faith, violence and family start to arise even more throughout the film and it’s great to see that there’s still a lot of morality coming through all those many action-packed scenes. While this feature has nothing new to add to the well-trodden genre, the filmmakers know how to balance human emotions and ruthless action.

The Elms brothers and Easley still need to figure out how to create intriguing dialogue, though. The dialogues are bland and unimaginative and take much away from the actors’ performances. Speaking of performances, while Bloom’s acting is strong, we can’t say the same about the many supporting actors. This is mainly because their characters are underwritten and just there to provide violence and blood. That’s certainly the case in MacDowell and her character. While Big Cat is a tyrant and powerful female boss, MacDowell can’t rise above the lifeless script. Therefore, what should have been a ruthless antagonist becomes a one-dimensional killer.

After seeing MacDowell in an equally violent role in Ready or Not, it’s clear that she knows how to portray a merciless killer, but to pull this off, she needs much stronger material than the one she got here. Clearly, the filmmakers were too busy creating fast-paced, action-packed scenes and glory moments and forgot to inject the movie with some suspense, thrills and intriguing characters along the way.

When the credits start rolling after the 111 minutes runtime, Red Right Hand feels like nothing more or less than a slow-burning and sometimes tense tale of retaliation and family led by a sturdy Bloom. If it wasn’t for the bland execution and the unexplored characters, the movie could have been a great homage to the outback ’70s films.

Red Right Hand is available in cinemas and on VOD from the 23rd of February courtesy of Magnolia Pictures