It wasn’t too surprising to watch Bob Odenkirk transition from a comedian to a sturdy dramatic actor; that kind of thing happens all the time. It’s been way more fun, however, to watch him go from that to a genuine action performer with box office appeal. Is there a Neeson-style cottage industry of Odenkirk-driven violence on the multiplex horizon? After Nobody and its sequel, and now Normal, it certainly seems like there’s room for a few more entries in this particular ouvre.
In Normal, directed by genre maven Ben Wheatley, Odenkirk plays the absurdly named Ulysses Richardson, who has the equally absurd job of “Interim Sheriff.” Apparently Ulysses travels the country from small town to small town, filling in as the local lawman for a few weeks here or a months there until a permanent replacement is found. This provokes an obvious question: is this a thing that happens in the real world? Does he work for a government, or some sort of temp agency? For the purposes of engaging with Wheatley’s film, the answer is who cares. Ulysses is here in Normal, Minnesota, to take over for the recently deceased former top dog, who totally not mysteriously froze to death in his underwear in his backyard. The sheriff’s department is strangely armed to the teeth, even though everyone in the town seems perfectly friendly — indeed, a little too friendly, especially Mayor Kibner (Henry Winkler). It turns out that Normal holds a bonkers secret: the town bank is actually a Yakuza-owned vault (yes, really), and the entire citizenry knows about it. So when a couple of clueless bank robbers come to town, the proverbial All Hell finds itself broken loose.
Normal‘s screenplay comes courtesy of Derek Kolstad, most notable for having dreamed up the John Wick movies, and his latest script certainly bares a lot of his tics: the cheeky humor, the shifting loyalties, the goofball worldbuilding, and a strange obsession with one man pitted against an entire town full of adversaries. But, as they say, if it ain’t broke. Once the violence kicks in at almost exactly the halfway point in this brisk 90-minute exercise, it all but refuses to stop. Odenkirk has previously proven himself a formidable performer in fight scenes, and he keeps that reputation in tact here; Normal’s action skews a bit more gun-heavy, but the result is the same — he’s a supremely believable badass.
The direction from British genre journeyman Ben Wheatley is likewise a boon for the film. It’s legible, stylish, and aware of its audience, delivering a clear emphasis on gory money shots (especially multiple yucky eye-gouges). There’s a Tony Scott-esque free-for-all shootout between the townsfolk and the Yakuza late in the movie that’s a particularly fun standout, and Odenkirk also has some sturdy support in all of this from the likes of Lena Headey as a local bartender and Billy MacLellan as an obsequious deputy. The whole thing looks quite nice as well, making the most of a wintry backdrop that’s quite novel for this sort of Western-inspired story. Normal doesn’t really hit the heights of violence and shock of the new that the first Nobody offered, but it also doesn’t aim to. What it does deliver are simple pleasures that are apparent and frequent.
DIRECTOR: Ben Wheatley; CAST: Bob Odenkirk, Henry Winkler, Lena Headey, Billy MacLellan, Peter Shinkoda; DISTRIBUTOR: Magnolia Pictures; IN THEATERS: April 17; RUNTIME: 1 hr. 30 min.
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