Gangland

However, as important as the post-secret perception is, the pre-secret setup is crucial as well. In order to see everything correctly, you first have to see it wrong. This means a lot of pre-judgments being forced upon the viewer, only to see those shattered once all gets revealed. The appropriateness of the reservation setting to a story structure like this is limitless. Being underestimated is part of how the reservation was made to work. Seeing it differently once you have the whole story is how it is. You just never get to underestimate it again, which Grashaw and Montague have made sure of in Gangland.

“Grashaw’s direction looks both gritty and great all at once, with lots of heavy shots landing hard.”

Something I can write openly about is the great acting on display here. Many like myself are already huge fans of Lane Factor, better known as Cheese from Reservation Dogs. Factor shows in Gangland that he can work the big screen just as masterfully as the small one, with a chance to tackle some very grim material. Nick Stahl once again impresses, as he has been making lights appear in the sky with his recent work. This is no exception, because when bristled and gristled is on the menu, Stahl serves it up the best. The great Lou Diamond Phillips, who desperately tried to save the planet from werewolves recently in the phenomenal Werewolves, gets a meaty role that really shows how far he can go. There is a lot of complexity to Teddy, but Phillips inhabits him so completely he makes it look easy.

So Gangland will remain a bit of a mystery until it isn’t, just like it will remain underestimated until it isn’t. I can’t guarantee how things will look to you once that isn’t the case. Some things can’t be unwatched, just like you can’t go back to not knowing about some stuff you wish you never knew about. Montague’s script plays very mean at times, punching harder where other productions pull back. Grashaw’s direction looks both gritty and great all at once, with lots of heavy shots landing hard. When this hits streaming, I hope everyone sticks around for the big reveal, as that is when the real story will begin. Go ahead and join Gangland, because once this movie jumps you in, you are in for life.