🔗 Share this article The Outlaw Film Analysis: Southern-Fried Dialogue and Quirky Characters Elevate Firearm-Wielding Black Comedy One might be excused for forming extremely modest expectations for this crime flick given its poster’s generically moody imagery depicting lead actor Seann William Scott holding a firearm with an power tower in the distance. What a nice surprise to discover this is in fact a comedy, better yet, one that’s frequently humorous in a blokey, improvised sort of way. The Concept The setup is that in the tiny Tennessee town of Colt Lake, a man is killed in the street, struck by a car so many times that he looks like meatloaf. Clueless but kindly local cop Sam Evans, played by Johnny Simmons, and his deputy DJ, enacted by Chance Perdomo, make a feeble attempt at solving the case, but are soon overshadowed when state investigator Bobby Gaines, played by Seann William Scott, suddenly shows up, representing a statewide taskforce and takes over the case. Unique Techniques Gaines’ approaches may be a little on the forceful side and not strictly according to protocol, but he gets confessions surprisingly fast and soon works his way up the admittedly short criminal hierarchy until he finds the primary antagonist. There are a few surprises, but the investigative storyline is of much less significance than the southern-fried banter: a steady patter of men mocking each other, questioning one another’s masculinity, and generally describing each other as small town failures. Based on Reality? Onscreen text at the beginning says that this 2008 story was based on real-life occurrences, but that may be as credible as the assertion at the start of the classic Fargo film. And it’s possible—maybe one of the antagonists really did have a girlfriend named Destiny, portrayed by Jett Wilder, who wandered about during showdowns strumming the banjo, and that Sam had a sweet spot for Izzy, brought to life by Lovi Poe, the town official’s daughter, and her stunning collection of brioche-knit sweaters. Filmmaking Style But the weird details around the edges give the film flavor, irrespective of whether they’re rooted in truth, and director Michael Diliberti and his editor have a knack for snipping in just the right place to emphasize a joke. The last few miles of the screenplay are more than a little foreseeable, but this isn’t at all bad for a first-time filmmaker. The Outlaw is on digital platforms from 22 September.