Directed by Aharon Keshales
Written by Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado, Kai Mark
Starring Jason Sudeikis, Evangeline Lilly, Mike Colter
Unrated
Runtime: 2 hours
In theaters and on digital October 8

by A. Freedman, Staff Writer

Jason Sudeikis is having quite the year. With a hit show under his belt in Ted Lasso and an Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series, the SNL veteran is having the most success of his career so far. The timing is interesting for him to lead a hyper violent Texas set neo-noir, and for whatever reason, South Of Heaven is being released with almost no publicity. Sudeikis plays an ex-con named Jimmy Ray, who gets an early parole to marry the love of his life Annie (Evangeline Lilly), who is dying of lung cancer. He vows to play it straight to give her the best year of her life, but as any ex-con movie character in a film will tell you, once you get out, they just pull you back in.

Israeli filmmaker Aharon Keshales (Big Bad Wolves) directs from a script by Navot Papushado (Gunpowder Milkshake), and from the start they are playing in a fun sandbox. Set in a small town in Texas, South Of Heaven is populated by scoundrel characters such as Jimmy's no-good parole officer Schmidt, played by the always great Shea Whigham (If Mr. Whigham is your parole officer, you might be out of luck). When Schmidt asks Jimmy to deliver a package for him, at the threat of sending him back to prison early, you can see things heading in the titular direction rather quickly. A series of coincidences lands Jimmy on the path of Mr. Price (Mike Colter), a local crime boss whose name and calm veneer should tip you off about the impulsive ruthlessness hiding underneath. As the growing chaos sweeps everybody up, Jimmy and Price are two bad men at war, doing their best to keep their innocent loved ones from becoming collateral damage.

South Of Heaven brings to mind films such as Red Rock West, the underseen 90s neo-noir with Nicolas Cage and Dennis Hopper- another tale of strangers in a small southwestern town that descends into violence sparked by a few misunderstandings. RRW director John Dahl would have done an equally fine job with this material. He might have even had the wisdom to cut it down to size. At two hours long, South Of Heaven wants to be so much bigger and better than it ultimately is. Somewhere in the film is a sharp thriller, but Keshales and Papushado keep piling on the twists, and lose their grip on the film. Noirs can be great fun when they are complicated and confusing, but this is a big pot of spaghetti thrown at the wall where most of it doesn't stick. It's too bad, because the basic core of the film–the "sauce" if you will– is quite good! Not to mention that Sudeikis shows he can a) lead a film and b) be so much more than a wisecracking funny guy.

Even more frustrating? The ending is a barn burner! Is it too late to send in an editor to chop 20 or 30 minutes off this thing? Well, South Of Heaven comes out on Friday, October 8th, so I guess it is.