Gold Dust

By the time the credits began rolling, the film leaves you with a sense of what true friendship and sacrifice mean. It is surprisingly heartfelt, and the emotions feel authentic. Part of this is because Wall and Wysocki are dynamite in their respective roles. When Fink tells Moses, “You. I’d rather be you,” upon being asked another of those inane thought experiments, it is such a sweet and unexpected viewpoint that their lifelong friendship rings. Not that they ever hit a false note, as their friendship is believable from the start and remains so to the very end.

As Maggie, Maggie Hough is outstanding as well. Her chemistry with Wysocki is incredible, and when she needs to be scared of her captors (El Guapo or the dancing killer), her fear is palpable. When she is called upon to be a bit more spunky and lighthearted, she is just as good as well. As the almost cartoonishly absurd cartel leader – the man has someone killed for being too believable and convincing – Marchbank is terrific amounts of fun. He generates a lot of laughs while still coming across as a credible threat.

“…ably balances each plot thread so that every wild narrative organically flows into each other.”

Egor Povolotskiy’s cinematography lovingly captures the natural beauty of the desert in long, sweeping vista shots. It is breathtaking to see, and all of Gold Dust is gorgeous to behold. The score by Jessy Ribordy is also fantastic. It fits the mood of each scene wonderfully and gives the whole production a grand sense of scale, perfectly complementing the cinematography.

Gold Dust suffers from a case of tonal whiplash for about half its runtime. But, thanks to witty dialogue, a story overflowing with creativity, and excellent turns by the entire cast, the movie entrances the viewer. Add in the visual flair and amazing music, and you are left with a gem of a film worth hunting down.