Succinctness in the contemporary thriller is a rare and precious virtue. In the case of Cop Car, the brute simplicity of the narrative and visuals make for a dread-filled, inexorable ride through an experience of unadulterated suspense and brutal humor.
Cop Car begins innocently (though worryingly) enough: two pre-teens cross an empty expanse somewhere flat, sun-drenched and dry; one is reciting increasingly bad swear words, which the other repeats, laying out the dynamic of their relationship that will lead, inevitably, to what comes next. They spot an apparently abandoned cop car in a lonely copse and dare each other to get closer, until they are not only sitting in the front seats but driving it – slowly at first, then egging each other on to hit the 100mph mark. The film cuts to moments before: Kevin Bacon, who we learn is the sheriff, parks the same car where they will find it, and begins a bit of “cleanup” work just outside of hearing range; when he returns, the car is gone, and so the chase begins.
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Who are these boys and why are they running away? What led up to the Sheriff disposing of a body in the middle of a field, just outside of town? These questions are essentially irrelevant; the plot proceeds nearly in real time with each darkly comical turn, all pervaded with a sense of dread and anxiety. And despite the lack of details, each character inspires (often perverse) allegiance.
This is due in part to the performances, which are all terrific: the boys are believably frightened and at turns bold; Camryn Manheim’s cameo provides both comic relief and another twist of the knife; and Kevin Bacon, looking wiry and weathered, inspires real terror – when he isn’t absurdly inept/unlucky. It operates like a simplified Fargo, stripped of the nuance and sharpened into one violent afternoon.
Cop Car rolls forward on the momentum of each tragically ironic coincidence with a sense of inevitability and unavoidability like that of driving down a long, straight country road with no signs, streetlights, intersections or signs of life. This stark landscape and the light, unobtrusive soundtrack – vaguely reminiscent of Badlands at times – provides the threateningly open backdrop to a very American story of freedom rife with mishaps and mortal frustration.
It is an exercise in pure suspense with the combination of simplicity and improbability reminiscent of another “road” movie, Steven Spielberg’s debut feature from 1971, Duel. Just as in that film, the deeper identities of the characters, explanations for situations and behaviors, and so on, are sacrificed to timing, the foreboding atmosphere, and pitch-black humor. It’s unlike anything playing in theaters today and a breath of fresh, nasty air.
CONCLUSION: Cop Car is a refreshing thriller devoted entirely to suspense and dark humor, with effective performances from a slim cast and stark violence that make for a particularly memorable experience.
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By: Madelyn Sutton
Madelyn Sutton is the Assistant Editor of the Prisons USA project in Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media and works for the Columbia University Film department. She lives, works, and watches all the shitty movies in New York. Resident horror aficionado. Queen of cult.
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