Mojave – Die Wüste kennt kein Erbarmen (2015)

Mojave – Die Wüste kennt kein Erbarmen: Directed by William Monahan. With Garrett Hedlund, Louise Bourgoin, Cletus Young, Oscar Isaac. A suicidal artist goes into the desert, where he finds his doppelgänger, a homicidal drifter.

“Greetings again from the darkness. The isolation of the desert seems the perfect place for an artist to achieve the existential awakening necessary during a time of personal doubt and crisis. The journey to find oneu0026#39;s true self becomes much more complicated when the one-man desert getaway is interrupted by heavy boozing, self-destructive tendencies, and a serial-killer sociopath. Such is the case with writer/director William Monahanu0026#39;s (Oscar winner for his screenplay of The Departed) latest film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGarrett Hedlund plays Thomas, a very successful filmmaker, who seems to take no joy from his life of luxury … a mansion in the hills, cool cars, a wife and daughter, and endless adulation. Sporting the ultra-cool celebrity look of sunglasses and long hair, Thomas heads off into the desert to either clear his mind or end his life. We arenu0026#39;t really sure which, and neither is he. Lots of Vodka and reckless Jeep driving leave Thomas in a showdown of wits and machismo across a campfire from a sinister yet articulate drifter. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe drifter is Jack, played by Oscar Isaac, and itu0026#39;s no surprise when we learn he is a serial killer … the sociopath part we figured out quickly, right along with Thomas. Their under-the-stars confrontation leads to a tragic accident the next day, and pits these two in a B-movie game of cat and mouse with a tone that reminds a bit of Cape Fear (1991) and U-Turn (1997).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHeading back to L.A., Thomas comes up with an incredibly stupid plan to cover his tracks. Being famous u0026quot;since I was 19 years oldu0026quot; and having financial success with movies hasnu0026#39;t trained Thomas on facing off against a clever nemesis. Even his discussion with his manager (played by an unusually low-key Walton Goggins) comes across as literary-speak rather than real advice. u0026quot;Worry about what seems to beu0026quot; is the advice Thomas rolls with.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMonahan fills the screen with tough-guy dialogue for these two characters that are both simultaneously stupid and smart. Jack and Thomas go at each like a couple of intellects, but itu0026#39;s the class warfare that stands out. The 99% versus the 1%. The message seems to be that it comes down to circumstance on whether one is an artist or a psychotic felon … and the line separating the two is pretty slim. Itu0026#39;s also not a very well disguised ripping of the film industry … especially of producers. Mark Wahlberg chews some scenery as a d-bag movie producer who talks loud and fast while accomplishing little. Itu0026#39;s a pretty funny turn for Wahlberg, though unfortunately his character spends limited time on screen. Louise Bourgoin has a couple of scenes, and quickly proves more would have been welcome.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film may not be much to look at, and doesnu0026#39;t really make much sense, but some of the dialogue duels and u0026quot;brotheru0026quot; banter, manage to keep us interested throughout. u0026quot;Take a left. Take a right.u0026quot; It doesnu0026#39;t much matter with these two well-read adversaries from opposite sides of the tracks.”