reason for the angst and defiance.
When Wolf's mother suffered a brutal
attack, the Feds declined to prosecute
the case. It was just too much work.
However, when Wolf took the law into
his own hands, they made his capture a
top priority. There will not be a lot of
sunsets for the biker and his new
traveling companion to ride off into
during Jason Momoa's directorial
debut, "Road to Paloma."
Wolf is a lot better than self-destructive
rocker Cash at being a drifter.
Nevertheless, they ride together for a
while, sharing some colorful
encounters on the road.
Wolf has secretly picked up his
mother's ashes from his estranged
reservation policeman father, to spread
in accordance with her wishes.
Anticipating he might do something
like that, Special Agent Williams grabs
a reluctant local white copper and
heads into the Mojave after him.
Wolf and Cash will see some scenery
worthy of John Ford on their journey,
stopping along the way for some bare-
knuckle brawling and a little bit of
loving. For Cash, that means lap
dances, but Wolf prefers using his
mechanical skill to seduce Magdalena
(Lisa Bonet) when her vintage car
breaks down. It is nice for a while, but
the law is never far behind.
Frankly, "Paloma" is far more sensitive
and moodier than you would expect
from Jason Momoa's WWE-distributed
motorcycle-powered directorial debut.
Small in scope, it is much more closely
akin to his Sundance series "The Red
Road" than "Game of Thrones" or
"Conan."
They both feature Native American
themes, as well Momoa's wife, Lisa
Bonet. Regardless, in "Paloma," the
cinematic vistas and alienated vibe are
surprisingly effective. On the other
hand, Momoa largely wastes the
timelessly cool character actors Lance
Henriksen and Wes Studi (who has a
bit more to do than the former).
As his own lead, Momoa is a
serviceable renegade-brooder. He also
generates some decent heat with Bonet,
as well they should. Even in his brief
scenes, Studi shows everyone how it is
done, but it might be co-writer Robert
Homer Mollohan who makes the
strongest impression as the reckless
Cash.
Unfortunately, Timothy V. Murphy's
unapologetically serpentine Williams
just does not ring true. Feds are
nothing if not politically astute, so the
degree to which he goes about
antagonizing local law enforcement
feels more like a clichéd contrivance.
Although it has some swagger,
"Paloma" is not a meathead movie. It is
a rather dark, character-driven affair
that has a real point to make.
Essentially, Momoa, Mollohan, and co-
writer Jonathan Hirschbein suggest
that federal jurisdiction over crimes
committed by outsiders on reservation
land has created an incentive for
predators to prey on Native American
victims. That is the good old federal
government at work.
Recommended on balance, "Road to
Paloma" opens this Friday, July 11, in
New York at the Quad Cinema.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN