Directed By Francis Galluppi

Starring – Jim Cummings, Faizon Love, Jocelin Donahue

The Plot – While stranded at a rural Arizona rest stop, a traveling salesman (Cummings) is thrust into a dire hostage situation by the arrival of two bank robbers (Richard Brake, Nicholas Logan) with no qualms about using cruelty-or cold, hard steel-to protect their bloodstained fortune.

Rated R for violence and adult language.

The Last Stop in Yuma County – Official Trailer (2024) (youtube.com)

POSITIVES

For a directorial debut, Francis Galluppi has done his homework on the finer elements of film that firmly flesh out an enticing story and tangible environment, all with effortless simplicity that his audience can faithfully follow in story beats. It’s a single stage setting of a narrative that combines the cunningly enticing dialogue of Tarantino, with the violent aftershocks of a Coen Brothers movie, resulting in 90 minutes of air tight entertainment that serves as the culmination of so many combustible elements continuously simmering under one roof. For starters, the storytelling is impeccable, clueing audiences in on the one element that draws so many of these wild card characters together, while also zeroing in on the human component of greed that takes all of us to some pretty dark and desperate places. Considering we know so little about these characters, other than why they’re here, there’s always that air of compelling ambiguity to their influence that continuously keeps us on our toes with expectations, all the while meticulously taking its time towards building to an unforgiving climax that will be felt for miles. It’s every bit unpredictable as it is ruthlessly punishing, with unrelenting stakes that prove not a single character isn’t expendable, but also profound in how it articulates the meaning of its message. Without giving away anything, and once again tapping into the Coen Brothers mentality, the film seems to creatively articulate that senseless violence only begets more senseless violence, and in a room with so many dangerous and colorful personalities, the smallest little causes can wield such ground shaking effects, resulting the odds rarely in the favor of those involved. I also loved h ow all of the motivations and actions of the characters simultaneously subscribed to the logic of their particular situations, affording the film a rare-but-appreciative certification that consistently felt like the characters took all of the actions that I would in their various predicaments. On top of this, the single stage setting has firm tangibility value in the way it’s both executed and presented to our interpretation, with a claustrophobically hot and sticky atmospheric ambiance to its capture that can be felt in everything from ascending sound mixing, to a rich versatility in angles that keeps the presentation fresh throughout a story that is intentionally repetitious. On the former, blowing fan blades and kitchen machinery really help to convey a lived-in sense of depth to the tangibility’s of the established setting, building tension accordingly as the stakes are continuously appraised with the untimely arrival of each new additional character, or a new device between them that quite literally feels like gas on the proverbial fire, and on the former, high, low, near and far are covered with a dexterity to cinematography from Mac Fisken who subscribes to a surveillance style of documentation, with a fine degree of patience to the procedure. Because the film is blessed with so many long take sequences or refreshingly smooth transitions in unique editing, it maintains the attention of its audience, without sacrificing any of the aforementioned mounting tension as a result of cutting away or obscuring the initial conflict, in turn attaining the consistency from a well oiled machine of production that feels like it shares one unanimous vision. In addition to the claustrophobic containment of the setting, the film is also set in the 70’s, which initially felt like a device of outlining an isolation factor for the characters broken link to lawful safety, but actually served as an opportunity for the production to revel in presentation aspects for the time period. Between a star-studded score including everyone from the likes of Roy Orbison, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and Dusty Rhodes & The River Band, and an opening credits font of dreamy creamlike colored lettering, the production loses itself in the depths of its period piece, crafting a unique touch that only maximizes the allure of its intoxicating personality. The film is also brilliantly acted by an ensemble of veteran character actors, who each imbed nuance and psychology to the extent of their respective personalities, but especially Cummings and Michael Abbott Jr, who each have an absorbing talent for capturing such bizarre characters. For Cummings, it’s the ticks and anxiousness of his character’s design that the focus depends so faithfully on to convey the tension and panic of these dire situations, with boldly rich facial deposits that feel realistic without subscribing to cartoonish emphasis. Cummings himself is a director, so he seems primed to know just where and how to react for camera detection, and while he more than anyone feels like the film’s dominant protagonist, we probably learn the least about him, even to the point of the film not even giving him a legitimate name. As for Abbott Jr, he’s built a career off of inspiring these quirky personalities, but the legitimacy of his accent design gives geographic relevance to where the story is set, and when combined with maximized emotionality that continuously rises to the occasion of the character’s overwhelming responsibilities as the town sheriff, revels in the most bang for the buck in having the least amount of screen time of any of the main ensemble. Finally, and perhaps most importantly to the film’s integrity, the tonal impulses remain entirely consistent throughout the 90 minute engagement, despite occasionally contrasting influences in material that threaten its dramatic grip on the material. Because this is a shoot-em-up action flick, there’s very little room for levity to sacrifice the mounting tension and uncertainty of the engagement, however some brief bouts with twisted humor were much appreciated to bring out the maniacal macabre of certain character designs, resulting in smooth balance that never withers or stalls long-term.

NEGATIVES

While nothing terribly troubling to the integrity of the finished product, ‘The Last Stop in Yuma County’ does finish things on a bit of an anticlimactic finale that has an impressively tough act to follow, in the form of its third act climax. As to where the first hour of the film builds towards this triumphant unloading of ammunition and raw nerves, it leaves an additional fifteen minutes that never comes close to equaling that momentum or intensity, making it feel like the climax, despite ample time spent building it up, materialized a bit too quickly. For my money, I wish it was the final thing in the movie, with either a winner take all on their route to escape, or the same ending we got, but within the confines of the diner itself. Venturing outside feels like a cop-out of all of the claustrophobic tension that the set-up initially mustered, in turn resulting in an ending to the film that never quite measured up to the devastation that predated it. In addition to this, my only other issue with the film pertained to the ambiguity of our traveling salesman protagonist, who feels like the least articulated among this wild bunch of characters. While I previously commended the film’s script for maintaining that air of ambiguity surrounding character motives, he’s the one contradiction to the sentiment, especially since some of his third act motives doesn’t exactly match the neurotic hypochondriac we’ve come to experience. It could certainly easily be explained by the idea that greed is the horse that drives the carriage, but I definitely could’ve used more insight into the person he was before this inevitable showdown, especially in that the script feels like it intentionally obscures these aspects with the hint of uncovering them later.

OVERALL
‘The Last Stop in Yuma County’ is a Coen brothers flavored tautly written and magnetically executed crime thriller that meaningfully takes its time with painting a confrontational showdown within the confines of a claustrophobic single stage setting. With incredible nuance in performances, stakes-shaping twists and turns, as well as a thorough cinematic language in direction that meticulously shows all of the atmospheric elements of the story, the film is a roaring debut of a triumph from first time director Francis Galluppi, who will inevitably use the momentum from this powder keg to springboard a career of game-changing cinema.

My Grade: 8/10 or A-