Once you accept the miserable fact that close to nothing of what will unfold in Detained in fact bears any resemblance to logical human behavior, the second film that follows without a doubt offers its own uncomplicated rewards in the Goofy Escapism department. Taking notes from The Usual Suspects, even including the fact that a noteworthy bad guy may very well be rounding in the room at this moment, Detained has so many twists and turns that it is hard to be overly negative about one just as the other one has managed to surprise one’s expectations. Yes, this is a movie about dumb people and their dumb ways and there is absolutely no denying that fact. But there’s something beautifully amusing about its single setting stupidity a bunch of idiots gets dropped into some impossible situation, and then they hurl themselves against each other until most of them come out dead.
Abbie Cornish, whom I consider one of the most underrated performers in Jane Campion’s Bright Star, plays the role of Rebecca Kamen who apparently wakes up in police custody. Or was she? From the initial sequences of Detained, it is rather self-evident that there is something awry in the arrangement, albeit I could hardly determine whether it was simply a poor movie in its entirety or a very clumsy construct. I suppose this is a bit spoilery, yet it is early enough in the part of the story that I don’t believe it is possible to give too much away when I say that Rebecca is not just in a normal police precinct. There are darker things taking place.
Once Rebecca awakens, she finds out that she was at the centre of a hit and run, one that may have potentially killed a cyclist one of the things that seems unreasonable is a clamorous questioning of the woman who was blacked out drunk and didn’t know whether she was in an accident or not. To put it rather mildly, it is one of several occasions where the audience has to switch off their brains. It’s not like there are no other means to determine whether she did so or not. Before even asking such questions and getting frustrated, Rebecca is placed in a holding cell with Josephine Lindegaard a fellow inmate and an older drug addict Silas Weir Mitchell. A tussle results in a gunshot which then leads to an interaction and Rebecca trying to use cash in order to silence the situation. Before she manages to offer what she deems as her investigator, the screen darkens and it is only now that it becomes obvious the entire scenario is farcical beyond measure, a farce being planned by an individual named Avery Laz Alonso of the Boys who may or may not be working for the most notorious fictive villain Keyser Soze, oh no sorry… Jovan.
I’m pretty sure you do.
I do not know if it is my exposure to theatre that makes me feel this way, but I happen to like a thriller that is set in one location. Just one focusing on this or that character and deploying them so they collide with each other and something comes out of it. One of the most important elements for the successful versions of the subgenre is a cast that knows for what purpose they were brought in, and here’s where director and co-writer Felipe Mucci resonates with the audience. Alonso is enjoying himself in ways that his Prime Video hit does not let him enjoy far too many times that I would definitely want, but what works is the range in the extended ensemble of Ridiculous Suspects? There is Moon Bloodgood playing a hard assed cop, and the lovely Justin H. Min (After Yang) who plays Rebecca’s presumed lawyer. What detained perhaps lost the battle in the boards of composition would be inclusivity of mediocrity casting is a low budget film production. But this one is rather sharp, with a number of actors clearly enjoying their premise and hoping the audience will as well.
Finally, when all the trouble is over there’s a clip of a person saying, Not completely sure what the motive is as well. I busted out laughing. Yep, Detained does not make sense at all if one considers the reversals and turns plotwise, and this film could have been made in a cleaner, more stylish way that blunted some of the rougher edges to make it more simply hard edged and realistic. And yet there is almost something pleasing about a B-movie that doesn’t shy away from being a B-movie. Perhaps it’s not The Usual Suspects, but The Usual Idiots is quite entertaining as well.
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