We reviewed Bushwick at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
The democratization of content is upon us: from blogging to Snapchat and fake news, anyone with an iPhone is suddenly a maestro. In his online Masterclass, Deadmau5 proclaims that great electronic music can be made these days by a kid on a laptop. It seems there remain few artistic endeavors not at least somewhat susceptible to millennial shortcuttery, but for what it’s worth, I’ve always assumed action movies are immune.
Bushwick, screening this week at Sundance, aims to prove me wrong — and comes within a rifle shot of succeeding.
In this low budget disaster thriller, a civil engineering grad student (Brittany Snow) emerges from the subway in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn with her boyfriend (Arturo Castro) in tow. The station is mysteriously empty, as emergency announcements blare over the intercom. Puzzled, they make their way to the stairs, only to find the street above awash in explosions and gunfire. The boyfriend meets a fiery end within moments, and Snow, panicked, darts through the streets dodging black-clad soldiers who’re killing everyone in sight. Snow links up with Stupe (Dave Bautista), a grizzled and reclusive war vet, and convinces him to escort her the five blocks to her grandmother’s house.
I loved the first half of this film. Though their budget constraints are apparent throughout, it’s impressive how much directors Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion achieve with so little. They rightly resist the temptation to employ a handheld or found-footage approach, and instead quite successfully fashion the illusion of large-scale violence by staying tight on the protagonists and their immediate surrounds, while relying on off-screen sound effects (and the occasional CGI smoke) to complete the scene. Opening montage aside, Bushwick gives the impression of being a single long, unbroken shot — though keen observers will spot the cuts — that follows Snow and Bautista through the pandemonium of a neighborhood turned ultra-violent. They struggle their way through the perils, dodging the various threats of urban guerrilla warfare.
It’s not until halfway through the picture that Snow and Bautista discover who’s behind the carnage, but the film’s promotional materials will give that game away long before you ever set foot in the theater. Namely: A new American civil war is beginning, and a coalition of Southern states has just moved to secede from the Union. They’ve sent helos of militiamen to secure various “soft” neighborhoods in major cities to pressure Congress into ratifying their deal. When things go awry, the killing starts. It’s an interesting premise and unfortunately, to many viewers, will seem a timely one.
Bautista is excellent. Fans will remember him as the villain Mr. Hinx in the James Bond film Spectre, and also from Guardians of the Galaxy. He’s a hulking and somber chap and speaks few words here, but he works tender wonders with an otherwise overwrought backstory reveal. Snow commits fully to her role, and the shortcomings of the part — her character faces such a parade of awful hardships that she ends up reacting only to what’s in front of her, and seemingly forgets that she, for instance, watched her boyfriend burn to a crisp mere minutes earlier — are not hers as a performer.
Midway through act two Bushwick noticeably loses steam, with Black Hawk Down-style POV street battles giving way to safe houses, unnecessary banter, curious religious symbolism, and horse-trading with sundry timeworn caricatures of urban living. When Bushwick tries to bootstrap itself for act three, it’s already itself descended into caricature — what began as a jarring and believable what-if drifts off into disbelief. I actually recall the moment that I relaxed in my seat, no longer as invested, now just watching the show. (On the plus side, the film never gets preachy.)
In all, Bushwick is a valiant effort by a committed crew to produce a timely, potent, and fast-paced action film. Bautista and Snow elevate this to unexpected heights, but in the end, the steady drumbeat of action overwhelms this B-movie’s war chest.
Haus Verdict: Not a Hollywood blockbuster by any means, but a jarring, brisk, point-of-view action trot with some uncomfortably relevant political furniture and a notable performance by Dave Bautista.
Bushwick is screening at Sundance Film Festival. We will update this review with a wide release date if one becomes available.
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