A near-suicidal artist (Garrett Hedlund) escapes to the desert only to encounter his doppelganger-like antagonist, a homicidal drifter (Oscar Isaac).
In this latest fictive crime spree featuring young people who evidently never go to the movies, the kids in “Mojave” go to the desert for fun, but find nothing but trouble. Their screw-ups are only a shade less inept than the pair wandering the same desert in Gus Van Sant’s “Gerry” and the sex-crazy couple in Bruno Dumont’s “Twentynine Palms,” but this time, there’s a lot less film art on display. Eric Red fans will note the influence on co-helmer-writers David Kebo and Rudi Liden, but lug-headed plotting and acting result in a pic only sleepless cable subscribers could love.
Talked by pals into getting away for a weekend of techno music and mescaline highs in the wilderness, Josh (Eric Christian Olsen) nearly ODs. But a nasty encounter with a pair of gnarled local dudes jumpstarts Josh’s heroic side. With rich pal Dan (Rider Strong) too wimpy and the others wounded or dead, the impossibly outnumbered Josh whoops ass on a whole band of rowdy desert honkies led by bloodthirsty and talkative Dom (Dash Mihok).
Mojave is an American crime thriller film directed and written by William Monahan. The film stars Oscar Isaac, Garrett Hedlund, Mark Wahlberg, Louise Bourgoin and Walton Goggins. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 18, 2015. The film was released on DirecTV Cinema on December 3, 2015, prior to opening in a limited release on January 22, 2016, by A24.
Mojave
Directed by: William Monahan
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Garrett Hedlund, Mark Wahlberg, Louise Bourgoin, Walton Goggins, Dania Ramirez, Hayley Magnus, Kylie Rogers
Screenplay by: William Monahan
Production Design by: Robb Buono
Cinematography by: Don Davis
Film Editing by: John David Allen
Costume Design by: Arielle Antoine
Set Decoration by: Nicole Selmo
Art Direction by: Allesandra R.T. Said
Music by: Andrew Hewitt
MPAA Rating: R for language and some violence.
Studio: A24 Films
Release Date: January 22, 2016
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