I really wanted this movie to blow me away. I needed something surreal and engaging. And the premise was promising. Texas wasteland, comic-book characters, and a story that combines horror and comedy into one potent mixture. Alas, The Rambler turned out to be quite different, not necessarily worse, just different. With strong, surreal imagery and an artistic take on the timeline, it can be quite confusing sometimes. However, I would say that it still delivers. Of course, for the ones that ordered something like this.
So, let me warn you right here: if you are not in the mood for a moody movie, you should skip this one. Save The Rambler for one of those flat nights when you need something surreal to hit you. You know those nights when nothing important has happened in days and you just want something to jog you. With a circus-like atmosphere; with crazy doctors and even crazier contraptions, lizards, and weird lights appearing out of nowhere you just can’t guess where this movie will take you.
You can say that if you like David Lynch movies you’re going to also like this one. Think Blue Velvet or Lost Highway and you’ll be on the right track. Dermot Mulroney gave one hell of a performance here and single-handedly made The Rambler a movie worth watching. He’s the embodiment of the American old-school bad-boy spirit. A man who’s free but also burdened, wandering the vastness of the country, ready for anything.
The Rambler (Dermot Mulroney), a mysterious drifter with no goals or any direction in his life after he’s released from prison, suddenly finds out that he has a brother. This changes his life, and he decides to travel to his farm where he’s offered a job. He starts his journey through a surreal world of characters, places, and events hoping to finally settle down…
Style over substance is a keyword here, as The Rambler scene after scene slowly loses grip over the crazy horse it’s riding. So, you can take this in two ways, the first one being: hey, let’s ride this thing and see where it takes us. And the second one: this ride is too crazy for me. Looking through the eyes of a very simple yet mysterious stranger, everything seems new and interesting. Especially compared to our mundane lives. I liked the twist on The Rambler as the classical anti-hero is no hero at all.
He’s not smooth or very smart, but just a man with a very strange mindset seemingly unburdened by morality. So, his reactions are intriguing and the thing that makes you watch the movie to see what’s going to happen next.
Director: Calvin Reeder
Writer: Calvin Reeder
Cast: Dermot Mulroney, Lindsay Pulsipher, Natasha Lyonne, James Cady, Robyn Reede, Christopher Dempsey
Fun Facts: Filming Locations: Roswell, New Mexico, USA
Rating:
IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2381355/
