Motor City

John Miller (Alan Ritchson) is out for revenge in Motor City (Distributed by Independent Film Company)

Motor City is a gritty 70s-set revenge thriller made with operatic style. The headline here is an almost complete absence of dialogue. In its place is a lot of rock music, used cleverly to punctuate, and at times elevate, the images. Since I have already seen some people complaining, let me be clear: this is most definitely not a silent film. Besides the near constant music and sound effects, the characters do make noises (mostly grunting); they just don’t have conversations onscreen.

The story is barebones, so it is easy to follow even without everything being explained through exposition. These are men of action, who let their violence do the talking. That approach feels like a gimmick a few times in the first half, during moments where director Potsy Ponciroli seemingly goes out of his way to keep his characters quiet. Once the plot stuff is over, things flow easily, to the point where words would just get in the way. The physical presence of the performers is more than enough to tell this story. It isn’t some groundbreaking action classic, though it does what it sets out to do successfully and is pretty entertaining at it.

A man is framed and sent to prison by a jealous crime boss, leading him on a bloody quest for vengeance.

Motor City (96 minutes, without the end credits) is as basic as you can get with that synopsis. The opening scenes show the protagonist very much in love with his girlfriend. Her ex-boyfriend, a dangerous gangster, uses his police connections to get our blue-collar hero arrested (and subsequently sentenced to 25 years), so he can get the girl back. After that, it is a bit of a slow burn focusing on establishing the villainy of the bad guys and the determination of the good guy, until the path of rage begins in earnest upon his escape from incarceration.

Ben Foster as the evil Reynolds

Everything here, the music, action, stunts and drama, are all in service of getting us from point A (tough guy falls in love and settles down) to point B (his life is torn apart) to point C (righteous retribution). Ponciroli sticks to this journey the whole time, following his protagonist, while also making the world as rich as necessary to make the payoff as satisfying as possible. Nothing comes off as gratuitous or lacking.

Sure, there is very little talking, but Alan Ritchson (the hero), Ben Foster (the villain) and Shailene Woodley (the woman caught between them) are able to get their characters and emotions across without it. Ritchson is all hulking physicality, mixed with tenderness for his girlfriend. Foster is sleaze and power. Woodley embodies the beauty hiding underneath the darkness none of these people can ever truly get away from. The casting was far more than half the battle here, yet the performances don’t disappoint.

Motor City is old school, centering on passion and violence, never feeling like a videogame. The action is intense and intimate, with a couple of good sequences toward the end. This works best in the theater, where viewers will be less likely to check their phones when there’s no dialogue. That lets this suck you in, creating a surprisingly engrossing cinematic experience.

3½ out of 5

Cast:

Alan Ritchson as John Miller

Ben Foster as Reynolds

Shailene Woodley as Sophia

Pablo Schreiber as Lieutenant Savick

Directed by Potsy Ponciroli

Screenplay by Chad St. John