DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE (2019) *** ½

With Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cell Block 99, writer/director S. Craig Zahler has proved to be one of the most interesting voices in film today.  No one has combined hardboiled narratives, pitch black humor, and quirky characters like this since Tarantino.  Dragged Across Concrete is further proof that Zahler has the goods.

Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn are two cops who’ve just been suspended for roughing up a suspect.  Tory Kittles is a convict freshly out of jail who teams up with his pal Michael Jai White and a team of trigger-happy killers to pull off a daring heist.  Faced with an uncertain retirement plan and needing to set their families up with some semblance of stability, Gibson and Vaughn trail the criminals, hoping to cut themselves in on the loot.  Things quickly go south, and a bloodbath ensues.  

Zahler writes full-blooded characters that sizzle and pop.  They’re full of flaws, broken dreams, and unscrupulous aspirations.  He still wants you to root for them, despite all that, and it’s almost impossible not to.  These guys have been beaten up by life, especially Gibson’s character who readily admits his inability to change has caused him to be stuck in a rut.  Tired of a vocation that requires him to round up “imbeciles”, pulling this job is his only chance to provide for his family.  Likewise, Vaughn is fascinating to watch.  He’s flashy and funny, and seemingly has everything going for him, although he has his own set of very different problems.  He’s relatively young and wants to propose to his girlfriend, so maybe grabbing some quick cash now will allow him to sidestep the very same mistakes Gibson’s made.  Kittles’ character has his own noble intentions about the money, which makes him not too different from the corrupt cops.  Like them, he only wants to provide for his family.  They just so happen to be on opposite sides of the coin.  And the law.  

Much has been made about the movie’s length.  Zahler is a novelist, so he approaches each scene almost as if it were a chapter in a book.  Not only does each scene have a distinct beginning, middle, and end, they also have their own rhythm too.  Sometimes, he wants you to really feel the length (like the overlong stakeout sequence), if only to give you an opportunity to swim inside the characters’ skin for a bit.  My favorite moment doesn’t even involve the main characters.  It’s a long scene focusing on a seemingly inconsequential character that almost feels like it’s from another movie.  Don't worry, its payoff provides one of the biggest gasps of the entire movie.

It lacks the gut-punch intensity of Brawl in Cell Block 99, and some of the points Zahler makes is a tad too on-the-nose, but Dragged Across Concrete remains a fine companion piece, nonetheless.  Many of the same major players appear.  It’s fun seeing Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, and Udo Kier popping up and making the most of their smallish roles.  I especially liked Johnson as Gibson’s boss who tells him he’s about to be fired because the media has acquired footage of him behaving badly.  Gibson is particularly excellent in this scene, possibly owing to the fact that he knows a thing or two about having a bad news day.