Blackway

"Sure would be better for everyone involved if she just left town." Lillian (Stiles) has just returned to her hometown after years away. Once she becomes the target of a stalker she asks for help but only Lester (Hopkins) is willing to offer it. Now the two of them must not only find out who the mysterious Blackway is but stop him before things get too far. This is a movie that is first and foremost tense and a good mystery story. On the other hand the movie is a little generic and cliché and would be a really good TV movie if not for the cast. The cast in this really raises the movie above that. Hopkins is good and Stiles plays her part well, but there were a few plot points that were added and either forgotten about or didn't seem to fit with the rest of the movie. All that said, the movie isn't bad and is a decent watch for what it is. Overall, a really good TV movie that became more due to the casting alone. I give this a B-.

Released in 2015, "Blackway" is a crime drama/thriller starring Anthony Hopkins as a retired logger who comes to the aid of a harassed woman (Julia Stiles) in Pinterville, Oregon, after the yella sheriff refuses to help. Alexander Ludwig plays the young stuttering redneck who tags along while Ray Liotta appears as the titular heavy. Hal Holbrook has a small role.

This is a grim backwoods drama/thriller with elements of "The Edge" (1997), "First Blood" (1982), "Cry of the Owl" (2009) and "Walking Tall" (2004). It's not great like the first two, not even close, but it's almost on par with "Cry of the Owl" and slightly superior to "Walking Tall." Yet it never cops an unrealistic tone like "Walking Tall" does with its overblown final act. It's a low-key slow burn focusing on life in the logging communities in the Great Northwest.

Speaking of which, one of the best thing about "Blackway" is the mysterious forest cinematography. There are also some small gems to mine, if you watch closely, like the fact that "man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward." Trouble just comes in different packages, as Hopkin's character laments before the showdown.

"Blackway" is essentially a Western taking place in the modern day, substituting pickup trucks and bikes for horses. The movie's simple and straight-forward, which turns some people off. But since 'twist' films are so commonplace now playing it straight almost comes off fresh. I shouldn't close without pointing out that Stiles has better womanly curves now that she's older; and looks great in tight jeans.

The film runs 91 minutes and was shot in British Columbia (Enderby, Vernon, West Kelowna, Lumby, Armstrong & Vancouver). It was directed by Daniel Alfredson from Castle Freeman Jr.'s novel.

GRADE: B-

This was a movie that started well and really set me up for a suspenseful movie but unfortunately it never really quite delivered. I thought that both Julia Stiles and Alexander Ludwig were pretty good and of course Anthony Hopkins, but lets be honest this was a okay script but maybe the director wasn't to good? disappointing especially since I've read the book. The scenes of British Columbia is beautiful and makes me want to visit but also gives the movie a cold feeling about it as if you were there. Ray Liotta never really struck me as a great bad guy. But he did okay here, I think this movie didn't quite hit it's potential.

I've seen this at least a few times now, I get this film once and a while from my library, it's really good.

I'm not saying that it's anything too special but it's quite good none the less. The title I found it under was called "Blackway" the name of the main villain that Ray Liotta plays in the film. I'm surprised that the title was changed from "Go with me" because I thought only the book it's based on was called that, plus I thought it went into production under the title "Logging" since the character Anthony Hopkins plays works at a logging yard.

About the story, it's your typical evil sheriff that has the whole town scared of him, that has his hands into everything illegal type, but I feel that it's done at least a little fresh in this. Also the three heroes of the film, Anthony, the kid who plays Nathan and Julia Styles character go after looking for Blackway, to his illegal businesses and finally to his home to kill him. The action scenes are minimal at best since this is a thriller, but the running time is short enough that the action is satisfying to watch.

It's a simple story really, the reason our heroes go after Blackway is they have crossed paths with him and he has ruined their lives to some existent, I won't go into spoilers because I feel you should experience it for yourself.

On to the acting, the acting is quite good here, Ray Liotta is a good villain as usual, lately he has been in some stupid films and TV shows but I'm at least glad to see him in something decent for a change. Julia Styles is good as well, and she plays Lillian, Blackway's latest victim. I haven't seen her in very much, I have just recently seen her in "Save the Last Dace" which wasn't too bad. Anthony Hopkins plays the lead character Lester, honestly he is always great in a lot of films he is in, including this one. This is basically the latest film I've seen him in, I have recently seen him in the latest "Transformers" film which was at least better than it's predecessor, but honestly I could care less for that franchise, in the best way. The kid who plays Nathan, I'm sorry I don't know him, but he was good. I think I've seen him in "The Final Girls" if it's who I'm thinking about, the movie was alright and his performance was OK.

Overall a decently made thriller that is quite re-watchable. I give it 6/10. Sure it's flawed but what movie isn't, check it out.

'Blackway' is about as straight forward of a story line as you'll ever get, and yet it's all the more enjoyable for that reason alone. Frequently films spend so much time trying to be complex that they forget to keep the realism factor and allow the characters to carry the movie. Some reasonably large actors (not so much currently, but in their time) signed on to this. Ray Liotta has always been a personal favourite of mine. He's very much suited to the character. He can play 'unlikable' very well. Julia Stiles is a little clunky in her line delivery at time, but has just enough acting chops in other areas to get away with it. The stand-out for me though was Anythony Hopkins. What a delight it is to watch this man act. He may not have the energy in his roles he once had, but his presence more than makes up for it. His line delivery is elegant and yet menacing in its own way at the same time. To think at 78 he is still working as frequently as he is is astonishing.

Quiet little independent films like this often go one of two ways. Either they're incredibly dull, simply trying to be more than they are capable of. Or in the case of 'Blackway' they just perfectly find their niche and are a delight to watch. It's far from perfect and there's nothing game-changing here, but if you're just looking for an enjoyable 90 minute experience you won't be disappointed.