Movie Review: The Stunt Driver

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B+

A strong character study. 

This film tells the true story of Ken Carter, a stunt driver (don't call him a daredevil), who plans to jump the St. Lawrence River in a rocket car.

As this film started, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. The main character seemed like a jerk and someone I would not care to spend time within real life. However, as the movie went on, I saw that he was more complex than was first apparent. I began to see what I originally didn't like about this character was actually partly a front (put on for himself as much as others), due to his insecurities and fear. When I started to see this, I saw a lot of myself in this guy. Then I forgave his flaws because he now came off as a flawed but deeply human character. All of this was perfectly captured Jay Baruchel's performance. Critics are calling this his career best performance, and I can't argue with that. He is truly wonderful here. He perfectly captures the outward confidence as well as the inner insecurity. Despite his massive flaws, we find ourselves very much rooting for this guy. Because of this, though the tone is light for most of the film, when the movie wants to pull on our heartstrings it is very successful in doing so. 

The visual filmmaking here is also excellent. The movie blends this new acted footage with real footage from a documentary seamlessly. Though this is more of a character study than an action film, the stunt scenes are quite exciting. 

  This movie does try to mix in some quirky comedy into the drama. Unfortunately, this is rarely that successful. Most of this comedy simply falls flat. I also felt that the movie sometimes seemed to go on a little long and repeat itself. These however are small flaws for what is a very strong movie. 

An excellent film.