Henry O'Brien
As income inequality becomes more pronounced and the global economy becomes more and more intertwined with artificial intelligence, everyday people are getting less and less of the pie. With a lack of money and economic stability, small business owners are left to work and struggle to stay afloat, working well into their 80s and sometimes even older. This leads to a lack of opportunities for the youth, who want to start their careers and lives in a world that simply is not as affordable or as accessible as it was for their elders.
All of this tension permeates throughout Ron Murphy’s Back in Black. The film follows Christopher Walken as elderly funeral director Clyde, who struggles to make ends meet in a town where no one can afford luxury coffins. To help keep the business afloat, his granddaughter Sam (Ella Ballentine) starts setting up premeditated murders throughout the town, tying them into a web of murders and deceit.
Not every element of the film ties back to these, and there are plenty of story threads that feel tacked on or undercooked, but the core of Murphy’s larger message, featuring a delightful performance from Walken, makes the indie thriller far more engaging.
The most notable conceit throughout the film is that Sam doesn’t speak for nearly the entire film, except for one word until the end of the runtime. This isn’t because Sam is mute, but more so because she becomes a sounding board for fellow characters’ anxieties and views on the world.
As the plot moves along, they also come to Sam to reveal their theories on why these deaths just keep happening. When Sam actually speaks, it becomes a moment of self-actualization in her attempt to build a life for herself.
Sam represents many Gen Z/millenial folks in the U.S. and Canada: tied down, trying to take care of their elderly relatives who still have to work for their finances. This, in turn, leaves her to do much of the meaningful work to actually keep the business alive and well, even if it means turning to crime.
A recurring joke throughout the film involves Clyde walking into a room where Sam is and telling her to shut up, even though she hasn’t said anything. This dynamic increasingly annoys Sam, once again pushing her to find her own way. In nearly all aspects of Back in Black, Clyde dominates; his concerns and jokes take up all of the oxygen, representing a sharp view of how an economy caters to older generations while younger ones have no ground to stand on.
At 83 years old, Walken lands the assignments as someone who can land many of the zingers Murphy and co-screenwriter Nick Torokvei give him. Walken has always treated dialogue rhythmically, and for a comedy like this, it fits, as he has to grieve with customers who have just lost a loved one in one moment, and then complain about how they’re cheap in the next.
He still commands the screen, landing the larger message Murphy is going for, like when he’s waiting for funeralgoers right after telling Sam to “razzle dazzle these cheap pieces of shit.”
The times Walken is off the screen are when the movie struggles. Sam’s lack of dialogue provides Ballentine the chance to show off her physicality as a performer and her ability to convey information in one-on-one scenes with other actors.
The film also takes a great interest in detailing how Sam sets up these “tragic” accidents to happen, taking the viewer through the steps that she, a woodsmith good with screwing and unscrewing nails together, has to take.
But Sam’s characterization begins to fall flat when a family member of a deceased person, Charlotte (Watson Rose), appears and the two begin a romantic relationship. Sam has multiple romantic partners throughout the film, but none of her decisions feel dramatically earned, even as much of her story is about her longing for her own purpose in life.
The remaining characters don’t come close to matching the humor, bravura or acting talent of Walken and Ballentine. Additionally, the two cops solving the case, Sheriff Wiley (Tony Nappo) and Deputy Donna (Louise Lambert), never have fully fleshed-out moments or motivations.
Even when the movie attempts to get serious or thrilling, Murphy, who directed multiple episodes of Trailer Park Boys, doesn’t use the camera to convey any suspense between the sheriffs or Sam.
But for all of these faults in the writing and editing, Back in Black’s larger point makes the flaws far more forgivable.
