Coco M
Loved this gritty, seedy little masterpiece of a film noir so much that I married the director! Ok so I'm a little biased, but as a lover of great cinema and especially this genre of crime thrillers set in the 1970's, this film ticks all the boxes. Shot on 16mm with dreamy coloring straight off an old pulp fiction novel, Morricone-esque score, and a cast of ruthless and down and dirty characters including the gorgeous Joceline Donahue and the iconic Kelly Lynch, who's performance here is one of her best. Everything to love about this film including it's brilliant director Oren Shai who is obviously serious about his craft yet brings a lot of playful humor in to his films that's downright refreshing. If you have yet to discover this film you are in for a real treat!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
05/12/24
Full Review
ronald h
Definitely in Jim Thompson territory, The Frontier is Oren Shai's first feature film (He directed and co-wrote it). It's a better than average 1960's period piece, and it's faithful to its pulpy noir predecessors.
My first response to the characters was that they were cartoonish. And much of the dialog is phony sounding. But that was actually the case in most of the noir films of the 30's through the 50's.
The story takes place in the Arizona desert at a seedy motel with a greasy spoon café run by Luanne (Kelly Lynch), a middle-aged woman with a mysterious past (Everyone in noir films has a mysterious past, right?). A young lady named Laine (Jocelyn Donahue) shows up one morning, sleeping in her car in the parking lot. From the first scene, a flashback, we glean that she has committed some kind of violent act and is on the run. She tells Luanne that she is escaping from an abusive boyfriend. Luanne takes pity on her and gives her a waitress job in exchange for a room in the motel.
Other characters show up, including Flynn (Jamie Harris), a strange Englishman; his ditzy blonde wife Gloria (Izabella Miko); a cowboy-hatted cop (A.J. Bowen) whose intention to serve and protect is questionable; a grumpy bearded guy (Jim Beaver); and a young man (Liam Aiken) who turns out to be Gloria's brother.
According to the local news, a $2 million heist has occurred in a nearby city. The money, robbed from an armored truck, is being delivered to the motel. It's obvious that some or all of the characters have something to do with it, and we learn about their involvement in bits and pieces. Laine plots to steal the money and run, but of course, everything goes wrong.
The Frontier draws from Blood Simple, The Grifters, and a couple other western noir movies, but it doesn't measure up to their standards. It's an exercise in style over substance. But again, that's true of most film noir. I watched it with a kind of detached amusement, and in spite of its grisly absurdity, it held my interest.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Somewhat suspenseful, but it still keeps your attention.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/13/23
Full Review
brendan n
The film has a very low budget but the lack of funding doesn't stop this film from being intriguing. I enjoy noir films and this one reminds me of some of John Dahls early 90s films, the pacing is there and if you aren't into slow burning films, this won't work for you. The lead actress has a vulnerability and beauty which is quite a find for a film of this budget. The cast are all quite uniquely chosen, they have odd quirks and interesting characteristics that ensure you stay interested. It took a little while to realise Lynch was one of the supporting characters, she definitely has the presence to give her character an odd weird feeling. The DOP and filmmakee deserve the biggest write up as the shots are sometimes taunt and have that unnerving David Lynch style. Aint it cool news had written a positive review on this which remindes me while I was looking for something else. I like tight thrillers on minimum budget and this fills the void, I just hope Dahl has a chance to return to similiar movies like this. The Last Seduction is on my rewatch list and I hold this right up there with that film, just a fraction weaker. 02-07-2017.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
There has been a lot of crap coming out lately, and I really enjoyed a movie like this. The setting and costumes are perfect. If you are over the overproduced, melodramatic and cgi filled bullshit that is coming out today, this is perfect for you. If you are fan of Jarmusch, the Coppolas. Wes Anderson, Woody Allen, and old film noir and spaghetti westerns, you will probably enjoy this. I am excited to see what else this director has up next.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
Full Review
Audience Member
With its stylish cinematography and labyrinthine plot The Frontier is
up there as one of the best of the bygone era of intentionally slow
paced, suspenseful, well crafted film making. If you miss the films of
yesteryear, the ones that had grit, character and an aesthetic
sensibility, then you are going to want to see The Frontier. This film
has all of that and then some.
Director Oren Shai takes you in to a dreamy, shadowy world that looks a
lot like the covers of the hard-boiled pulp novels of the 50's and
60's. Every shot is gorgeously cinematic and my favorite thing about
this movie is how much space Shai gives the viewer just to observe and
revel in moments between the dialogue. The story is told as much
through a frame on a characters face with a certain look in their eye,
or a shot of landscape that portrays the remote emptiness they are
surrounded by, as it is by its clever sharp-tongued dialogue. A
haunting score adds to the richness of the visuals as well.
I won't give too much away about the plot, but the story centers around
Laine (exquisitely played by Jocelin Donahue) who we don't know much
about except that she's a girl on the run. Where she came from or where
she's going nobody knows. All we know is that she stumbles upon a kooky
set of misfit thieves, awaiting their loot in a dusty motel in the
desert, and she seems to be trying to escape danger but has landed in
to something that could be far worse. But the heroine is up to tricks
of her own and soon we can't tell if she's the one in trouble or the
one making it. The plot that starts off steady and cool, quickly
becomes a roller coaster ride of twisty turns, girls with guns, double
crossing, triple crossing and good guys gone bad, bad guys gone even
worse. It's great fun to watch and just when you think you know what's
happening, you're on to another jaw-dropping scenario.
All in all, it's very entertaining but also a great piece art. I'm very
happy to have discovered this hidden gem and I highly recommend!
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/26/23
Full Review
Read all reviews
>
