John Hillcoat is a great director without a truly great film. Lawless and The Road are really well done visual poems that aren’t all that well written. Most of Hillcoat’s fans would point to The Proposition and call that a truly great film, I would call it beautiful and well acted, but once again, not all that well written. Triple 9 doesn’t change that narrative and might be Hillcoat’s worst film yet. We need to find him a great screenwriter.
Triple 9 revolves around a group of ex-military/ex-cop/bank robbers/bros, looking to pick up the cash for their recent score involving a safety deposit box and a mildly well choreographed car chase centered around an exploded paint bag. This group of bros led by Chiwetel Ejiofor, the who’s who of character actors, now have to attempt another near impossible heist after the death of one of their members and the threat of having Ejiofor’s son taken away from him by the hokey Kate Winslet. In order to pull off the heist, they must commit a Triple 9; killing a police officer will bring in all the emergency authorities to that one location leaving the robbers enough time to get in and out without being noticed. And that’s why this movie has been made.
The premise to Triple 9 is so damn interesting and ingenious; it’s hard to see why someone hadn’t made a movie about this. With such a simple concept, it’s even more disappointing to see it wasted with all the talent involved. With actors like Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Clifton Collins Jr, it really stings to see it all go to waste. The acting, for the most part, is very well done and every actor is really giving it their best in a by-the-books heist thriller. The cast and crew really bring their all to this standard movie that with the right script, Triple 9 could have evolved into a great version of a classic movie trope.
But that’s all Triple 9 is. Trope after trope, Matt Cook‘s script really stops this film before it even starts. No character is given enough room to become likable or different enough to be interesting. David Ayer could probably fart something out on the page better than this, and we’re talking about the writer/director credited to the abysmal Sabotage. Any character motivation is thrown to the side for a cliché that just happens to work for the plot at that particular moment. Aaron Paul has a role here that is right in his wheel house of a moping, substance abused person with corrupt morals and even he can’t get enough room to make it entertaining or interesting. The arcs of certain characters only depend on how much you care about certain actors than you would about the character and it really hurts the film.
John Hillcoat’s direction even feels muddled at times. Between trying to make a realistic film and working hard to elevate the material that would be perfect for some of that ridiculous B-movie fun, his sensibility has a hard time fitting into the rather silly material. Known for melancholic looks at brotherhood and family, Hillcoat attempts to try for it again to almost no consequence and success.
All that being said, there are some good action sequences. The apartment sequence in particular is a sight to behold in how to shoot an economic and thrilling sequence. Mostly from a single viewpoint and with little dialogue, the tension ratchets up despite the screenplay trying to add in more clichés. (look out for the golden pistol held by a Mexican gang member and I can’t forget the screaming baby surrounded by bags of drugs).
Triple 9 is so painfully obvious in what it wants to do and with the movies it wants to try and be, there’s no room for originality. Not even Michael K. Williams‘ spirited performance as the transgendered, Sweet Pea, can brighten the dark reds and banality of such a film and it’s screenplay. When can we put out an open call for a better writer suited to Hillcoat’s talents?