Arkansas (film)
| Arkansas | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Clark Duke |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | Arkansas by John Brandon |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Steven Meizler |
| Edited by | Patrick J. Don Vito |
| Music by | The Flaming Lips |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Lionsgate |
Release date |
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Running time | 115 minutes [1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Arkansas is a 2020 American thriller film, directed by Clark Duke in his directorial debut, from a screenplay by Duke and Andrew Boonkrong. It stars Liam Hemsworth, Duke, Michael Kenneth Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Eden Brolin, Chandler Duke, John Malkovich and Vince Vaughn. It is based on the novel Arkansas by John Brandon.
It was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on May 5, 2020, by Lionsgate rather than being released theatrically due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Plot
Kyle Ribb is a drug dealer working for a man only known as Frog. He is "promoted" to Arkansas to move wholesale with a talkative and overconfident Swin Horn. While trucking product to Corpus Christi, the rope holding down the flatbed tarp breaks, and they are forced to stop. Surprised as they run into a ranger named Bright who offers to help, they panic. The ranger reveals that he works for Frog and that both Kyle and Swin are going to work under him at the park. They are assigned trailers to live in and are ordered to keep a low profile.
They begin work trafficking drugs to different states in the South. Swin meets a woman, Johnna, and starts dating her. Johnna takes Swin along to sell off her obsolete gym equipment, which the pawnshop owner refuses to buy. At night, while it rains, Kyle, Swin, and Bright drink together as their new orders come. The orders came from a woman called Her who lives across the lake in a houseboat. They are to go to Castor in Louisiana now to hand-deliver the product and also collect the payment. After following them back to the park, Nick, the grandson of the buyer, tortures Bright for the money, and they both end up killing each other. When they discover their bodies, Kyle drives over to Castor, kills the buyer, and buries Bright in the park. Swin wants to run while Kyle explains that running will only end up with them being dead. They unsuccessfully try to contact Colin, a middleman, to pass up the word.
Back in 1985, Frog, who is revealed to be the pawnshop owner from the park, sells bootlegged tapes from his pawnshop in West Memphis before beginning moving drugs. After killing the middleman, he escapes out of West Memphis to Pine Bluff and starts working for Almond who gives him weekly supplies to sell. One day, they go and see the middleman. Dissatisfied with his payout, Frog sets Almond up and gets him arrested. He explains to him that he is taking over, and he's learned a lot from him and amicably asks for the middleman. After some time when the middleman wants out of the game, he sells his wholesaler to Frog.
Back at the park in present time, Kyle and Swin find a stash of cash in Bright's house. They decide to leave it be. They receive an order from Her just like last time. They are paid a visit by Barry, son of a friend of Bright, who is there to inform Bright of his friend's passing. He is sent back on his way by Kyle. They both decide to buy guns since their safety is in jeopardy. However, unbeknownst to them, the pawnshop owner is Frog, and he doesn't sell guns.
Back at the park, while Swin is out jogging, Johnna reveals to Kyle that she is pregnant and that she deduces the two are in trouble in some shady business from all the secrecy. Kyle tells her everything. The next morning, Barry returns, asking for Bright. Kyle kills him and buries his body as well.
Back in the past, after buying the wholesaler from the middleman, Frog recruits twins Tim and Thomas and recites the same rules as Bright gave Kyle and Swin. Many years later, Frog visits the twins and gives off the business to them, telling them that they are ready, and he wants to make way for them. He will retire, open up a pawnshop, and keep earning a small percentage of the business.
In the present time, Kyle and Swin are running the park and waiting for their next orders. Frog is determined to make them pay, irrespective of whether they killed Bright or are just covering up mistakes. He gives Her one last package for them to deliver in Hot Springs. At the delivery, they are met by the twins. Thomas takes Swin to execute him while Tim plans on interrogating Kyle about the whereabouts of the stash from Bright's house and Johnna. They get into a struggle and Kyle injures Tim. Kyle then escapes back to the park to get the money and gives it to Johnna. He tells her that Swin wasn't scared and did not betray him before he died. He gives her the address of Swin's family as they part ways.
Frog advises Thomas not to think of revenge and turn back to business as a way of getting past it. Thomas, in a frenzy, empties out Frog's joint accounts and then goes hunting for Kyle, after putting Tim out of his misery. Frog buries Tim in the park and closes his pawnshop, ready to get back in the business. He gets a contact for an order from an old acquaintance. He is met with an injured Kyle, who shoots Frog and takes the contact from him. Kyle says there is no resigning as a drug dealer.
Cast
- Liam Hemsworth as Kyle Ribb
- Clark Duke as Swin Horn
- Michael Kenneth Williams as Almond
- Vivica A. Fox as Her
- Eden Brolin as Johnna
- Chandler Duke as Nick
- John Malkovich as Bright
- Vince Vaughn as Frog
- Brad William Henke as Tim
- Patrick Muldoon as Joe
- Jeff Chase as Thomas
- Jacob Zachar as Stranger
- Barry Primus as Old Greek
Production
In October 2018, it was announced Liam Hemsworth, Vince Vaughn and Clark Duke had joined the cast of the film, with Duke directing the film, from a screenplay by himself and Andrew Boonkrong.[2] Principal photography began the same month in Mobile, Alabama.[3]
Release
The film was going to have its world premiere at the South by Southwest festival on March 15, 2020,[4] but the festival was cancelled amid fears of the coronavirus outbreak.[5] The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on May 5, 2020, by Lionsgate.[6][7]
Reception
As of June 2020[update], the film holds a 49% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 57 reviews, with an average rating of 5.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Arkansas has an appealing low-key charm, but this character-driven neo-noir is too diffuse and derivative to leave much of an impression."[8] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9]
References
- ^ "Arkansas". South by Southwest. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ N'Duka, Amanda (October 18, 2018). "Vince Vaughn, Liam Hemsworth & Clark Duke To Star In 'Arkansas'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ Barthomelow, Dustin (October 18, 2018). "New Clark Duke film 'Arkansas' stars Vince Vaughn, Liam Hemsworth and John Malkovich". The Fayetteville Flyer. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ Aziz, Neha (February 24, 2020). "World Premiere of Hannibal Buress: Miami Nights and Emerald Fennell's Promising Young Woman Join the Film Festival Lineup". South by Southwest. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ "SXSW 2020 Has Been Canceled Following Coronavirus Fears". BuzzFeed News. March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
- ^ Foutch, Haleigh (February 25, 2020). "Exclusive 'Arkansas' Poster Teases the Star-Studded SXSW Mafia Movie". Collider. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ "Arkansas Blu-ray Release Date May 5, 2020". Retrieved May 9, 2020 – via www.blu-ray.com.
- ^ "Arkansas (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
- ^ "Arkansas Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
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External links
- Arkansas at IMDb
- Arkansas at Rotten Tomatoes
- Arkansas at Metacritic