By Chris Olson
Noir crime drama from brothers Zeke and Simon Hawkins, in a film that shows just how hard it is to move on from your small-town origins…especially when maniacs, gangsters and an enveloping ménage-á-trois surround you…
Bobby (Jeremy Allen White) is a boy on the cusp of manhood - hoping to leave behind his stifling hometown life for the promise of college. Happy to forget his controlling mother, weird best friend, and the local loons, the only thing Bobby will miss is his friend’s GF Sue (Mackenzie Davis) - whom he longs for. This longing goes unnoticed by B.J. (Logan Huffman), Bobby’s bestie and Sue’s BF, who attempts to celebrate the upcoming rite-of-passage of both Bobby and Sue (who is also off to college), by robbing his employer and using the money to have one last wild hurrah.
The celebrations are short-lived though, once B.J.’s boss (Mark Pellegrino) starts looking for the culprit, shooting a Mexican dead simply because he was meant to watch the money. What unfurls is a dark and compelling plot of impending tragedy, as loyalties and truth threaten not just Bobby and Sue’s departure, but also their lives.
Fantastically moody and gripping, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place is the perfect combination of pulp-fiction rawness and on-screen maniacs. B.J.’s boss Giff offers a phenomenally reckless character, whose relentless animosity towards law and order is utterly thrilling.
Whilst the main plot develops, the complicated threesome of Bobby, Sue and B.J. Too is arguably just as compelling. In particular Huffman, who delivers an engrossing character arc.
Superbly plotted, delivered with style and poise, the Hawkins bros are seamless in their direction, offering a wonderful take on a coming-of-age tragedy.
