DVD Review: Rancid

Netflix has Rancid incorrectly categorized as a horror movie. In reality, this direct-to-DVD effort is a crime thriller that I think wanted to be an erotic thriller but chickened out. I also suspect director Jack Ersgard would have liked a young Tom Cruise to play his lead. Matthew Settle plays James Hayson, a writer who hasn't been able to write anything for six years, and whose tousled hair and perpetual five o'clock shadow suggest an actor trying a little too hard to look like the star of Mission Impossible. James's life has been a shambles ever since Monica (Fay Masterson) left him. His book is going nowhere and he supports himself by writing for a local paper and moonlighting as one of those blights upon humanity known as telemarketers, though what he makes isn't enough to keep the bill collectors from calling. The one time that the film's title is evoked is when his boss at the paper asks him "how's life," and he responds, "Rancid."

Against his better judgment he attends a high school reunion at the home of Crispin Klein (NYPD Blue's Currie Graham), a former classmate that James has always despised, and their relationship has further deteriorated since Crispin married Monica. At the reunion James runs into old friend turned police detective Andy Fell, and falls victim to a plot by Monica when she gives him a hug in full view of everyone including her husband. Crispin strikes Monica repeatedly for daring to embarrass him, then sends a pair of thugs to James's apartment to rough him up, which begins an escalating cycle of violence. The story bounces back and forth between present day and flashback, with the film opening as James hides in the Klein estate after a murder. Exactly who has been killed is not revealed until fairly late in the film, which adds a nice degree of suspense. As luck would have it (or IS it luck?), Andy is one of the detectives investigating the case.

The cast is generally quite good, although Michael Wiseman's performance as the loud-belching abrasive Detective Kent is probably the biggest cliche the film has to offer. Fay Masterson plays Monica with a softness and vulnerability that makes James falling for her scheme seem believable. Currie Graham plays Crispin with the a-hole quotient cranked to ten, but manages to do so without going over the top. Production values are strong, despite an obviously lean budget. There are some flashy bits of cinematography where the camera tears across the city at a breakneck speed before ultimately passing though a window which recalls a famous camera move from Citizen Kane, only this time it's revved up on Red Bull and steroids.

Rancid is a Swedish film making an honest attempt at emulating the look and feel of an American movie. The actors are American, and there are shots of New York City, but most of the film was shot in Stockholm. Since this is a 2004 film and it's only now reaching DVD I have to assume the producers have spent the last few years trying and failing to get theatrical distribution here in the States. Had there been some star power behind the film, and perhaps a couple more rounds of rewrites (the climax isn't quite as predictable as a Scooby Doo episode, but it's close) there might have been a chance. As is, we've got a reasonably enjoyable little flick that has some interesting twists and turns bolstered by the non-linear story. Had I paid to see this in the theater I might have come away a bit disappointed, but Rancid is a decent bit of entertainment for a DVD rental or catching on cable.

There are no extras to speak of on the disk beyond a handful of trailers for some direct to DVD flicks from Lionsgate including the actioner Crooked, Jackie Chan's New Police Story, the pseudo documentary Death of a President, a tale of surrogate motherhood gone wrong called The Rival.