Weekend Buff

Dragged Across Concrete (2018)

Dragged Across Concrete

I must admit that I never heard of this movie before it was recommended to me by our compatriot and prosecutor extraordinaire Eric Seidel.  Dragged Across Concrete (2018) was a relatively low budget film that saw a limited theater release.  But don’t let that dissuade you from watching. 

This neo-noir film packs an all-star cast and a great story.  It was written and directed by Craig Zahler.  The multi-talented Zahler has written a few books, plays in the heavy metal band, Realmbuilder, and has written and directed several films such as Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cell Block 99 before this effort. 

Vince Vaughn saw the script and loved it.  He recruited Mel Gibson to co-star with him and their collaboration results in some excellent performances.  Vaughn plays Detective Anthony Lurasetti and Gibson is Detective Brett Ridgeman.   

The two are hard-charging old school detectives in the fictional city of Bulwark.  Both are heavy-handed and perhaps too ensconced in the bad old days of rough and tumble police work.  Ridgeman is past his prime but can’t afford to retire.  Lurasetti is younger but displays a die-hard loyalty to his partner.  Both care about their jobs, but perhaps a little too much.

After a witness records them roughing up a suspect, the two are brought in to the office of Lieutenant Calvert, portrayed by Don Johnson.  Calvert is sympathetic, but the video is in the media, this isn’t their first rodeo with use of force complaints, and the partners just can’t see that times have changed.  He suspends the pair.   

Both are tight for cash and their home lives are in turmoil.  Ridgeman is having serious financial problems through no fault of his own and sees corruption as the only way to provide for his family.  Ridgeman’s frustration and stress is palpable in an excellent performance by Gibson.  He solicits Lurasetti to join him in doing a rip of a robbery crew.  In effect, rob the robbers. 

The crew that they target is more than they bargained for.  The duo realize they are in too deep but push forward.  They witness a robbery of a bank and realize that the perps are brutally violent.  Their mission is now vengeance as well as financial gain. 

Dragged Across Concrete is a slow burn.  It starts off with some action but quickly moves into character development and relationships.  It shows the story from multiple points of view including the victims and the perps involved in the heist.  The tension and foreshadowing build until the plot ignites into a dramatic and thrilling conclusion.  This is not your typical good guys vs bad guys flick. It has shades of Tarantino with some serious violence but not as gratuitous as Tarantino might display.  The final scenes are excellent.

Dragged Across Concrete is a long movie at over 2 and a half hours.  It is worth the investment.  Great drama turns to a fantastic final shootout as Gibson and Vaughn lead the audience through the plot.  You may get a bit antsy through the middle, but the story keeps you hanging in.  It will be worth the wait.

You can find Dragged Across Concrete for free with your Netflix subscription or rented for $4 on Amazon or YouTube.  Enjoy this atypical but thrilling classic.

Enjoy the movie and Stay Safe!