Motor City Review – Alan Ritchson Goes Silent. The Movie Doesn’t Know Why

The idea of a hulking Alan Ritchson out for vengeance in the ’70s-set Motor City is right in his wheelhouse. Besides, the actor’s imposing 6’3″ frame, super-muscular physique, and no-nonsense stoicism give him the kind of screen presence that says you don’t want to mess with him. And interestingly, Greedy People director Potsy Ponciroli puts a unique spin on the gritty revenge tale by filming nearly the entire movie without dialogue, reminding me of John Woo’s sadly underrated Silent Night three years ago.

Although that movie justified its silence through a protagonist played by Joel Kinnaman, whose character suffered from badly damaged vocal cords, Ponciroli’s dialogue-free approach in Motor City is rather experimental. Chad St. John, who previously wrote the revenge plot of Jennifer Garner’s Peppermint, frames a familiar storyline: When the movie first introduces a bloodied John Miller (Alan Ritchson), we see him carrying a body up the rooftop of a building in 1977 Detroit, and what follows is a stylized, hyperkinetic action scene with David Bowie’s “Cat People (Putting Out Fire)” playing in the background.

What Motor City Is About

The story soon takes us back to show how Miller, who works in a factory, used to spend happy days with his girlfriend, Sophia (Shailene Woodley). They are deeply in love, but their romance is short-lived after the cops raid their home with tear gas. Miller ends up getting arrested for a crime he didn’t commit when the cops discover a cocaine stash in his car trunk.

Apparently, he is framed by Reynolds (Ben Foster), a drug kingpin looking for payback after Miller stole his then-girlfriend and injured him, as revealed in another flashback. Miller is sentenced to prison, and Reynolds takes the opportunity to have the emotionally devastated Sophia back in his arms.

The Soundtrack Does the Talking

Ponciroli leans heavily on needle drops, from the aforementioned David Bowie’s 1982 song to Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain,” Sniff ‘N’ Tears’ “Driver’s Seat,” and Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love,” to reflect the characters’ actions and internal monologues.

Where the Silent Gimmick Runs Into Trouble

It works, but only to a certain extent — stripping away nearly all the dialogue leaves just a handful of spoken lines throughout the movie.

If only the movie had trimmed the fat in favor of a lean, straightforward revenge thriller, the dialogue-free storytelling device would have worked better. But Ponciroli and St. John stretch the story with elaborate attempts at character arcs and motivations, and without dialogue to carry them, the plot points are hard to convey effectively. The actors try their best to articulate themselves through body language and facial expression.

And yet, there is only so much dramatic and emotional complexity that expressive acting can convey in place of spoken words. Despite clocking in at just 103 minutes, it takes quite a long time to reach the revenge part, as the second act of Motor City drags through Miller’s imprisonment and Sophia’s toxic relationship with Reynolds.

The Third Act Finally Delivers

Fortunately, the movie finally comes alive once Miller orchestrates a prison break with the help of his two trusted buddies, Youngblood (Lionel Boyce) and Singh (Amar Chadha-Patel), who used to serve in the army together. Ponciroli doesn’t disappoint in the action department, favoring practical action over CGI. The subsequent visceral, gore-heavy mayhem in the bloody third act showcases Miller’s relentless quest for vengeance, including a brutal fight-to-the-death with corrupt police detective Savick (Pablo Schreiber) inside an elevator.

Easily the best scene in Motor City, the fight itself is messy as we see two angry men grappling and repeatedly stabbing each other with a knife before it escalates into a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun brawl. And that’s not all — Ponciroli also delivers a high-octane nighttime car chase, which at one point has Miller and Reynolds tussling and throwing punches inside a speeding, out-of-control convertible.

Ritchson Anchors It, Woodley Gets Left Behind

Ritchson’s predominantly silent, laconic performance suits his onscreen antihero persona, while Foster delivers a flamboyantly unhinged antagonist performance as Reynolds. The weakest link, however, goes to Shailene Woodley, whose performance comes across as an emotionally hollow caricature rather than someone worth sympathizing with.