Florida's Film, Television and the Arts Magazine
Violent Ends - Movie Review by Lisa Blanck
Money is thicker then blood in the film Violent Ends. The Frost brothers may have once been farmers, but the money they now bring in and the power they wield in the Ozarks, through drug dealing, is immense. There's absolutely no love lost between the brothers Frost, Ray (Matt Riedy), Walt (Ray McKinnon) and Donny (Bruce McKinnon). Generations of resentment runs deep and they have no problem blowing away a cousin for saying the wrong thing, or gifting a niece with a poisonous snake. It's all a means to a violent end.
Lucas (Billy Magnussen) wants out of the family business. He's just gotten engaged to his love, Emma (Alexandra Shipp), and is leaving town with her, to start clean somewhere else. She's far above his station and he can't believe his luck; he adores her. Lucas' father, Ray, is in prison for drug dealing. He tells his father that he's going to be relocating with his fiance', and his father spits in his face with anger. Lucas' older half-brother, Tuck (Nick Stahl), is down on his luck and is having money trouble. Tuck is married, with a young daughter. Both Tuck and his wife really like Emma. Lucas's mother, Darlene (Kate Burton) is the town's sheriff, and has been cleaning up the family issues her entire life. She's desperately trying to push her sons, especially Lucas, to not end up like the senior male family members.
However, in Violent Ends, none of the Frosts are able to escape their fates or elude their violent nature. And when things go wrong, Frost family weapons explode, painting the run-down town with buckets of blood.
Magnussen carries the film so well. Every scene feels authentic. What I found a little distracting, initially, was Lucas's wardrobe. He wore the same ripped jeans the entire film. Yet afterward, I could see how these wardrobe choices help viewers understand that everything happened in a very compressed amount of time, possibly 48 hours, since he never changed his pants.
You'll also appreciate the casting of iconic faces you'll recognize from streaming or movies, even if you don't know their names. Jared Bankens, who plays Walt's son, looks so much like a younger Ray McKinnon, it's freaky! Loved the score, it really helped to underline the emotion and move the action along.
The film is extremely violent, and following the familial relationships was a little tricky - I had to create a family tree to keep it straight. And I was not prepared for the final twist! Tightly written and directed by John-Michael Powell, it's just been released in theaters. Violent Ends deserves to find its audience.
