(IMAGE: Level 33 Entertainment)
Level 33 Entertainment. 2021. Mystery/Thriller. 94 minutes.
RATING: 2 out of 4
While he’s been a steadily working actor since his debut, Balthazar Getty’s career high came in David Lynch’s Lost Highway, which is arguably the surrealist director’s greatest film. Mulholland Drive, like so many cuter and younger siblings, gets all the glory, but the time-looping, dual actress persona, Robert Blake-case anticipating slice of Twilight Zone neo-noir did it all better the first time around, and was conceived from scratch rather than a reworked TV pilot. You don’t have to agree, because I’m pretty sure the Maze brothers, Brent and Derek, do. Hence their latest film, La Flamme Rouge, using the actual title font from Lost Highway, along with several tribute shots like those of a road at night, and their lead’s face in shaky cam and strange filters. That lead, of course, is Balthazar Getty himself.
Getty’s been mostly doing TV and indies in recent years, but he’s always a welcome presence and never half-asses it. Here he plays Rick Van Pelt – a name that also evokes Lost Highway‘s Dick Laurent in the way it’s delivered – a former cyclist whose leg injury has left him a boozing burnout. The movie’s title, never explained onscreen, refers to the red flag Tour de France competitors see when there’s just a kilometer left in the day’s stretch. For exhausted cyclists, it’s a welcome sight. But for Rick, metaphorically, it refers to one last night he’ll have to survive after everything goes wrong for him. A night spent drunkenly handling firearms ends the way anyone who’s seen a movie like this before might expect, but those involved – Rick’s former friend and fiancee, who of course were having an affair – are caught up in something bigger.
Rick freaks out and runs, but more people than he anticipated are on his tail. Obviously the police investigating the deaths are out there, but also a gang of rappers and a mysterious motorcycle-riding assassin whose voice sounds weirdly distorted and whose face is barely seen. Though we’re told by those who have seen it that he has no eyes, which allows viewers to imagine something creepier than the movie ultimately delivers.
The Maze brothers, who previously helmed a short called “Delirium Trigger,” are credited here for the writing, directing, cinematography, and editing. As such, they deserve full credit for the film’s visual style, a nocturnal world of debauchery and isolation. Picture the weirdest late-night parties you’ve ever ended up at at ungodly hours in a strange part of town, and imagine an entire world of that. This is a movie that knows the worst paranoia hits during those shadow hours, when there’s no way to confirm if your panic attacks mean they’re all really out to get you. From deserted factory backdrops to near-empty galleries and party rooms of the mostly passed-out, it’s one of the more visually inviting nightmares to hit indie screens in quite a while.
Unfortunately, the brothers seem less adept with sound design. The score, by French producer NxxxxxS, never quits, and for the full first half of the movie sounds like a generic, mildly irritating public domain take on electronic music. Later on, when it veers toward Marilyn Manson imitation, it’s a lot more effective. One of many audio tricks David Lynch perfected is the mysterious rumble, combined with super-dark visuals, to create an otherworldy feel; in otherwise trying to emulate the master, the Mazes missed that one. Apparently they wrote the script inspired by NxxxxxS’ music; it may be damning with faint praise to say they improved upon it a great deal.
And while Getty still treats this job with the same respect and charisma he always gives off, not everyone can say the same. Twin Peaks season 3’s George Griffith, as the detective on Rick’s trail, has a great character face, but seems to lack direction with listless line delivery. Clint Howard manages to be absurdly unconvincing at getting shot, which perhaps some clever editing could have worked around. In light of recent headline-making productions involving guns, it’s hard to fault the Mazes for using CG flashes and sound effects, but did they have to be so fake?
The brotherly duo evidently have a gift for creating atmosphere on a budget. Beyond that, they’d appear to be as good as their collaborators at any given time – a situation that can cut both ways.
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