The Stoic
Written and Directed by Jonathan Eckersley
Starring Scott Wright, Rocci-Boy Williams, Stuart Brennan
Rated R
Runtime: 97 minutes
Available digitally October 18

by Kevin Murphy, Staff Writer

Filmed over the winter of 2023 in northern Wales, The Stoic tells the tale of a group of mercenaries who are preyed upon by a single highly-trained soldier after he sees them smuggling women through the countryside. It openly reflects its influences and its intentions of being stark in visuals and character, and a good portion of the film is watching what is essentially a slasher narrative from the perspective of the killer, which remains an entertaining twist even twenty years after Dead Man's Shoes did it so well. 

The myth of the Stoics–enforcers from an ancient clan of smugglers, trained extensively and refusing to use guns–is reinforced as the mercenaries are picked off one by one, and the first fight scene isn’t even shown, maintaining this sense of mysticism. The element of fantasy in the monk-like Stoic order is balanced by a sense of realism very much present outside of it. The mercenaries are very fallible; they’re dishonorable discharges from the military who don’t have any kind of elite training, and their in-fighting and sleaziness have an authentic and all-too-familiar taste of clashing egos.

Among the cast, Jason Flemyng stands out in his brief role–he’s the one who establishes the lore of the Stoics in a way that echoes the “Baba Yaga” tale from John Wick, and then understandably takes off. The rest of the cast deliver in their roles, mostly as varying flavors of goons, which both contains the movie to its genre conventions and allows it to give polish within that. There’s distinct characteristics present that keep them from being cardboard cutouts and scenes that humanize them, and their leader is given a solid arc. Writer-director Jonathan Eckersley falls a bit flat with the women in the film, unfortunately, despite his stated intention of making them as complex and human as the rest of the characters.

There’s also a bit to the philosophy that doesn’t feel like it translates from intention to execution. Eckersley refers to the Roman philosophers who wrote about the belief systems, such as Seneca and Marcus Aurelius by naming characters after them (the protagonist bearing the latter), and takes some time to give a brief lesson while cross-cutting to the mercenaries building the tension. It’s something that is particularly meaningful to Eckersley as he discusses, in a statement, that his mother’s battle with cancer shaped his belief system, and the film is dedicated to her. This scene, however, feels like it’s tough-guy talk, lacking the gravity that would do justice to the philosophy.

These thematic aspects may fall short but one goal is realized extremely well: the tone. It’s primarily due to the visuals, but there is a harshness to everything here. The wintry chill is palpable, its dull gray daylight coming in through doorways and windows to illuminate stone floors and walls; night is lit by gas lamps and campfires for much of the film; many of the characters are miserable in it, sniffling and sick. It's established almost immediately and seeps through just about every bit of the rugged low-tech environment.

The Stoic feels like a short thriller concept expanded to feature length, but feels lean and steadily-paced rather than sagging heavily in the middle. The plot is simple and the world-building of this secret order of Stoics is not particularly unique, yet it keeps its hooks in the viewer because of this simplicity and the momentum allowed by that. It’s the kind of above-average action-thriller that makes for a pleasant surprise when you come across it, shining in how it gives some depth to its characters and its building of tension.