Independent Film Reviews

Reroute

Posted on 04. May, 2010 by Vance Garrett in New Release DVD

Reroute 2010 Poster Art

It’s odd when life becomes a wheel, where you tread on ground already worn by your forging footsteps years before. Six years ago while working for a relatively young publication I reviewed this small film from then Edmonton based IDIOM Films entitled Reroute. I had been familiar with the company, having seen Lyrics To Dying, their first film as a company, a year before. As with Lyrics, Reroute stood out to me then as something quite unique among the other independent films I had been reviewing. There was a measure of care to each film, and moreover a far-reaching edict muted only by the lack of budget.

Writer, producer, director, everyman Kenneth Barr had fashioned a distinct, and for lack of a better term, lyrical style that he has continued to evolve to this day. Using the film noir, or urban crime genre, the company as a whole explored themes and characterizations a little more advanced than most independently marketed films of the time. Where other indies were content exploring Tarantinoisms and other such “hip” pyrotechnics, IDIOM was harkening back to pulp writings of Jim Thomson and the 70’s revenge film long before fashionable. The latter was never more apparent in their overtures as it was with Reroute, and after many long years of being discontinued, it’s good to see the film once again available to the public.

Reroute is a classic revenge plot akin to John Boorman’s Point Blank (1967) (itself an adaption of the novel The Hunter by Richard Stark). Both movie and novel hold much that is evident throughout Reroute, from its quiet moments of surreal reflection to the use of flashback as a necessary narrative device.  Reroute begins in a long, and at times baffling, flashback verses real time setup as antihero Teague (Shane Carr) retraces his steps back to the scene of an apartment building massacre. Though tricky, the sense of disorientation in these opening minutes is something unavoidable due to Barr setting the action in the same place with characters wearing the same costumes. Later in the film the flashbacks are woven more effortlessly into the narrative, yet these opening minutes of the film become an acid test of sorts. It’s engaging to be sure, but even Barr later remarked about the production gaff in a 2004 radio interview;

“It’s a sort of flaw-in-the-slaw that we didn’t see coming until it was already done. On paper some things work wonderfully, then you get them onto the screen and it doesn’t come out the way it should have. When you realize what you have and it’s not what you wanted, and you’re working on a budget the size of what we had, there are no reshoots and it’s make or break time. You do what you can and hope the audience gets it.”

Teague (Shane Carr) stands amid his carnage.

The rest of the film follows Teague as he tracks down villain mastermind Miguel (Johnny Bede) who set him up, killed his friend Kerwin (Alykhan Gulamani), and stolen away with his girl Minette (Kailin See). His journey takes him through the underbelly of the city, and through more than one life-and-death conflict that culminates in a ton of people dying. You never know the whole story, not even at the end is everything explained in full. Barr doles out just enough information throughout the film to answer some questions while posing new ones. It’s a brilliant ploy that leads to a satisfying twist ending and indelible climax. Barr explained on his website it was always part of his design for the film;

“We went through a very strict regiment from the start with what was shown. From the first draft of the screenplay to the final cut of the film we held firm that what the character of Teague remembers is what is shown to the audience, and also what Teague acknowledges consciously. There are things that he stuffs into the back of his mind that the audience never gets to see, and about 50% of it is revealed at the end. It was very much designed to be an almost organic stream-of-consciousness narrative.”

Teague (Shane Carr) confronts Miguel (Johnny Bede) as Minette (Kailin See) looks on.

The film has aged reasonably well. There are small things throughout the film that are definitely flawed, and show the budgetary constraints more now than upon its release. Yet the one thing that hasn’t lost its potency is Reroute’s story. Some of the best moments in the film aren’t the myriad of bodies that erupt in geysers of blood and gore but small quiet moments of reflection and interaction. These both set up and perpetuate Teague’s journey through an almost nightmarish urban landscape littered with criminals and people out to kill him. It gives weight and much needed reasoning behind the violence and carnage, of which there is plenty. Some ninety characters are killed off in the 106 minute running time, most of them erupting rivers of gushing blood as they die, Schwarzenegger would be proud. The violence though is never turned into a cartoon and Teague begins wearing each of his kills like an Atlas weight around his neck.

Director Kenneth Barr applies a head wound to actor Brian Copping.

What I loved about the film then is what I still admire. Barr created a story with weight, characters that breathe and a narrative that openly challenged its intended audience. It presents itself like the myriad of direct-to-DVD indie shoot-em-ups that litter the marketplace, but be assured it is not. As if pealing back the layers of an onion, Reroute finds its strength in repeated viewing. Everything in the film is of dual nature, from the characters to what they say. You will hear things differently the second time, pick up on the subtle nuances that Barr sprinkles with abandon like an assured literary mad scientist. Though at the time most of the cast were inexperienced they handle the material wonderfully, injecting the right amount of rage and pathos into their actions.

From L-R: Tara Pratt, Alykhan Gulamani, Shane Carr and Kailin See.

The image of the film still crackles vibrantly though originally shot in 480p. Its widescreen presentation in the release has obviously had some mastering to it as it is a vast improvement over the already crystal image of the original DVD-5 release. The sound is also impeccable, a feat Barr accomplished by redoing the entire soundtrack from the ground up through the latter part of 2003 and into 2004. The importance of sound is something I cannot overstate, it makes up so much of the visceral cinematic experience that without it films just fall flat. Here you can hear every pang of pain, eruption of rage and muted whisper. A needed element for a story so focused on evolving itself subtly amid a maelstrom of gunfire.

The film is not without its detractions, and though I agree Reroute should be widely available, I think Barr has missed an opportunity to do some much needed pruning. The music score in places has definitely not aged as well as the rest of the film, and unfortunately the moments scored by these tracks are marred by leaving them unaltered. Additionally there is definitely some cinematic fat that could be trimmed from a couple scenes, and normally Barr is the first to make these drastic and necessary cuts. It may just be Barr wants to release the original version of the film, which hasn’t been available since mid 2005, back onto the market before releasing a “director’s cut”. Who knows, but it may be something to consider if not already in the works.

Ultimately the film still stands as an accomplished work of revenge cinema. It was Grindhouse before that film thrust the sub-genre back to the forefront of the filmic lexicon. Today what works with the film far outweighs what hasn’t aged as well. Stripping the violent pyrotechnics away, the story and performances are still incredibly strong. The film was also the launching pad for a number of its actors who have since gone onto established careers in the industry both in front of, or behind, the camera. It is a cinematic time capsule that should be opened and viewed by the uninitiated. Though I have never been in the position to do this before, I will quote my original review from 2004 which holds as true today as it did then. “Reroute is special because it’s a film that shows what an independent film can be, thoughtful exploitation; and that dear readers is a rare thing indeed.”

-Vance Garrett

Reroute Official Site

Reroute now available on Amazon Video On Demand

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