Normal is the new action-comedy starring Bob Odenkirk and directed by Ben Wheatley. Odenkirk has made a name for himself in recent years playing unlikely action heroes, such as Hutch in Nobody and Nobody 2, and this is a film pitched in a similar way to those. Odenkirk is still most famous for his portrayal of Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Ben Wheatley is a director known for a number of brilliant cult horror films – Kill List, A Field In England and more.
Normal //credit: Magnolia Pictures
Bob Odenkirk plays Ulysses Richardson, the newly appointed interim sheriff for the town of Normal, a quiet, almost picturesque Minnesota town. As an outsider to the town, he has to learn its particular peculiarities, and Ulysses has a delicate touch, writing parking tickets saying “Park Better” rather than issuing an actual fine. It begins to dawn on Ulysses that there is perhaps something a little odd about the town, the fact that whilst in an economic slump, they recently raised $16,000,000, and what exactly caused the death of his predecessor. We learn of some of the difficulties in Ulysses’ life, estranged from his wife and a heartbreaking incident that caused him to switch from being a sheriff based in one place to one who took up interim positions all over the country.
Normal has a big cast, with Bob Odenkirk being the central character by far. TV and Hollywood legend Henry Winkler plays Normal’s mayor, Mayor Kibner, seemingly friendly, but there is obviously an undercurrent of something not quite right with him. Lena Headey plays a local bartender whose more acerbic attitude matches Ulysses’ more than the painfully good-natured townspeople. After that, we have a cavalcade of residents of Normal, deputies, business owners and more.
There are a number of shows and movies that hang over Normal. First and foremost, Fargo, both the movie and more recent TV show. A small town in America covered in snow, where people are ostensibly good, decent folk, but with perhaps something more going on, is Fargo. Of course, Odenkirk was in the first season of Fargo and played a sheriff; admittedly, that sheriff would not have fared well in Normal. And Normal is not as good as Fargo; it cannot commit to the dark conceit as completely, and the characters, with the possible exception of Ulysses, are nowhere near as compelling (and Fargo is well known for imbuing every passing townsperson with one line with an abundance of character). But Normal is very enjoyable. Odenkirk is clearly one of the best actors working today, and if this doesn’t bring out his ability like Better Call Saul, it still means we have a first-class actor in the lead role. The other movie is Hot Fuzz, and again, Normal is not at that level, but a new sheriff coming into a very nice town and finding things out, that’s Hot Fuzz.
The central conceit of Normal is that a “normal” town could choose extreme measures to survive when the various government institutions that were supposed to look after their interests have completely dropped the ball, which is very timely. Why stick to the rules of society if there’s no benefit in it for you? The social contract that is meant to exist feels very one-sided. Whilst not supernatural itself, this is eerily familiar with the devil’s bargains of horror films like The Wicker Man, a town’s prosperity ensured by dark deeds.
The action scenes in the film are well done with a number of great fights and shoot-outs. Hot Fuzz‘s climactic gun fight sees not a single person killed, with wounds to shoulders, legs, etc. Normal does not choose that route, going more with the “if someone tries to murder you, you murder them right back” philosophy of Mal from Firefly. The film has problems in that it’s not quite sure how to resolve some of these issues, it strains credulity at times that such events could be successfully covered up, and it has seemingly important characters and plot points vanish without ever being addressed again. But if you like this sort of film and appreciate Bob Odenkirk, Normal is a very enjoyable movie.
(3.5 / 5)
