BUSHWICK (Cary Murnion, Jonathan Milott). 94 minutes. Opens Friday (August 25). See listing. Rating: NNN
A real-time thriller that plays out in a series of extended takes, Bushwick follows grad student Lucy (Pitch Perfects Brittany Snow) and ex-Marine Stupe (Guardians Of The Galaxys Dave Bautista) as they fight their way through a Brooklyn neighbourhood thats been invaded by a mysterious militia.
Whats going on? Is it a Red Dawn scenario, or something more insidious? The screenplay, by indie vets Nick Damici and Graham Reznick, withholds that information for nearly half the movie, the better to amplify the panic and chaos surrounding our heroes. But the eventual answer reflects the here and now a lot more closely than its makers might originally have intended. Its been eight months since Bushwick premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and its only become more convincing.
Co-directors Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott made the 2015 horror comedy Cooties, which had some fun moments, but Bushwick plays things straight, tracking the action at street level as Lucy and Stupe sneak from block to block, staying just ahead of the implacable enemy troops.
There are moments that recall Alfonso Cuarons Children Of Men on a much smaller budget, and I mean that as a compliment. Snow, whos in almost every frame of the film, effectively conveys the miasma of shock, horror and resolve that Lucy experiences Bautistas also very good at finding streaks of sympathy in his more generic warrior.
But just as Cooties ran out of gas in its third act, Bushwick similarly sours in its final movement, going out with a flourish that might be meant as a cynical shrug but feels a lot like posturing nihilism. Maybe this felt less affected eight months ago, but I kinda doubt it.
