Review: ‘Jungleland’
Jack O’Connell and Charlie Hunnam deliver career-best performances in this effective if derivative lowkey crime drama.
Jungleland is the type of movies that they just don’t make anymore. A subtle, lowkey crime drama that carries shades of early Martin Scorsese and Sidney Lumet, it centers on brothers Lion (Jack O’Connell) and Stanley Kaminski (Charlie Hunnam), who, after losing an underground boxing match that would have made them a lot of money, have to find another way to repay their debt to shady businessman Pepper (Jonathan Majors). They’re eventually tasked with escorting the mysterious Sky (Jessica Barden) cross-country but soon run into some trouble of their own.
Directed by Max Winkler from a script written by Theodore B. Bressman, David Branson Smith and Winkelr himself, Jungleland is gorgeously filmed and edited, with Winkler framing the small, rural towns where most of the film takes place in as warm, comforting places that are beautiful in their own right instead of the seedy, grimy manner they are usually portrayed in. The score, courtesy of Lorne Balfe, goes a long way in lending some authenticity to the proceedings, with soaring strings and subtle chimes mirroring the characters’ own frustrations and desperation. The film stumbles, however, due to a confused, middling script that isn’t sure if it wants to be a family drama in the vein of 2010’s The Fighter or a crime thriller a la the Safdie Brothers’ Good Time. Its barebones plot is also stretched far too thin across the film’s runtime. Jungleland is worth seeing, however, for its stunning performances.
Jack O’Connell hasn’t had the career many thought he would have after British TV series Skins launched him into the industry but that’s not for a lack of trying. He’s been in some very high profile films, delivering incredible performances in everything from Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut Unbroken to the Kristen Stewart vehicle Seberg, but he’s never managed to establish himself as a proper leading man and that might ultimately be a good thing for him. O’Connell is not your typical leading man, his unkempt appearance and gruff nature at odds with the charming and disarming persona his team attempted to market him with in the beginning of his Hollywood character. He is more of a character actor, adopting different accents, gaits and mannerisms for every single one of his performances. He is in absolute top form here, an incredible feat for an actor with a career chock-full of fantastic performances. His tour-de-force of a performance here is soulful and surprisingly nuanced, his facial expressions and mannerisms adding more layers to the character than a screenplay ever could.
Charlie Hunnam is not the most transformative of actors, playing different versions of himself (butchered accent included) in most of his work but he is in top form here, establishing a rugged, intimidating presence from the very first frame that only dissipates in the film’s final act, when his character is finally forced to come to terms with years of repressed guilt and trauma. Breakout star Jonathan Majors is criminally underused here, his handful of scenes leaving a big impression despite their minimal runtime. Jessica Barden delivers a solid performance as the headstrong Sky, although she doesn’t quite succeed at digging deep into the character arc the script attempts to set up for her. A particular dining room scene that tries to lend some nuance to her character ends up falling flat with apathy instead of catharsis.
One thing that Winkler’s film is filled to the brim with is empathy, and that’s what makes it stand out from similar films. Winkler and his actors understand their characters and empathize with them even in their darkest moments, allowing the audience to do so as well. Jungleland may not be the most thrilling or the most poignant film to watch, its lack of setpieces and conclusions holding it back from realizing its full potential, but thanks to an impeccable cast and gorgeous visuals, it is definitely worth checking out.
Rating: 3/5
Jungleland will be released in limited theaters in the US on November 6, before expanding to VOD on November 10.