Movie of The Week Review: Shot Caller
"The fact is, we all started out as someone's little angel. And a place like this forces us to become warriors or victims."
R 2017-Crime/Drama, Run Time: 2hr 1min
Can Be Seen On: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Youtube, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home
Movie Short Summary: A California stockbroker is arrested and charged for a fatal DUI accident, and on his lawyer's advice, takes a plea deal which sees him sentenced to 16 months in prison. While incarcerated, he becomes involved with a violent white supremacist gang.
Welcome back everyone! Hope you all had a great week and were able to sneak in some time to watch Shot Caller. I don’t think I’ver ever said where I live but I am currently in Tampa, Florida and we have had a rainy week thanks to storm Debby causing some heavy down pours that kept me inside to fire up some movies including this one. I’ve seen Shot Caller before which goes to show how re-watchable this film is but have never reviewed so let’s get to it!
SPOILER ALERT!!!!!
Trivia Question #1: Jon Bernthal (Shotgun) and Jeffrey Donovan (Bottles) worked together in what other film?
(answers can be seen at the bottom of the review)
Your life can change in the blink of an eye. You can go from being a very successful stock broker, family-man enjoying nights out with friends to being locked up prison trying to learn how to survive and do your time. That’s what happened to Jacob Harlon (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) aka Money due a DUI car accident that ended up killing one of his good friends, Tom. The film gives us an insight and authentic look into prison culture and how a good man can become institutionalized over time. How would you survive for years in prison? Would you try to keep to yourself and not piss anyone off? Not standup for yourself? Or would you stick to your race and join a gang? All of these questions come to the forefront of your mind as you watch this story unfold in front of you just trying to contemplate what you would do if you were in Jacob’s shoes.
The acting from not only Nikolaj Coster-Waldau but the rest of the supporting cast was incredible. The unsettling feeling anytime the prisoners were speaking as well as during the times we see Jacob on the outside, everyone seems tense, anxious as if they are trying their hardest not to fuck up or piss anyone off because they know the consequence could mean getting green-lit. Some scenes definitely keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing at what would happen next like Money pulling a knife on Howie and threatening to “gut him like a pig” for telling Shotgun where he was. The intensity of being involved in a gang feeling like oneself living a double life we see Money getting out and heading to a party that Shotgun is hosting for him with plenty of women, drugs, and neighborhood, he never thought he would be in. It all catches up to him when he heads to the bathroom and has to calm himself down as it feels like he could be having a panic attack having to keep up this charade and battling the feeling of being an imposter because he has to fully believe this is his new life in order to survive. We as the audience experience multiple uncomfortable scenes and the shock of prison life for example when Jacob is trying to fall asleep and the guard on night shift heads to the bathroom, we see and hear another inmate being jumped and raped. This is what initially makes it real that this is truly happening and throws him into the moment that if he doesn’t stick up for himself, he’s next. We also get to see when Jacob shoves a balloon of drugs up his ass for the PEN1 gang in order to move them to the yard for selling and watching him lose his innocence up close as him and Chopper shank a man to death.
Trivia Question #2: Which viral influencer makes a cameo in this film?
As much as the movie does well with authenticity through lingo, set design of using an actual prison, and the powerful storyline of a man not only having his life turned upside down but doing everything he can to protect his ex-wife and kid from the Beast, it still had some downsides. There were some confusing parts like exactly how Money was able to make the key for the handcuffs as I have an idea how but wasn’t exactly clear. I wish we also knew what the point of Redwood’s character (I know he was the one that held the keys to the super max prison) and why did we need to see that he killed the security guard. I wish we also knew how Money found out about the second shipment of guns that Howie and Shotgun were planning for themselves. Listen these are just small and minute problems that doesn’t really affect the main plot of the movie but something that holds it back from being perfect I guess.
Trivia Question #3: In the movie, how did Jacob get the nickname “Money”?
OFFICIAL SCORE: 8.5/10
Shot Caller was felt like a quick movie even though it was two hours because it just captures your attention through its thrilling nature and storyline. You instantly sympathize and route for Jacob aka Money even though he did cause an accident to get his friend killed, you still want him to make it out of all this in the end. From the plot to the amazing acting to the great dialogue we get like the line from Bottles in the sub-head line that makes you understand the mind of a prisoner and their world. Again the movie is re-watchable and has a cult like following due to its authenticity and true events that go on in our prison system today from the use of cell phones, drug trafficking, and rape. Along with the action and suspense definitely puts this movie at the top of our reviews so far (also helps there hasn’t been many yet lol). Let me know what you think down below in the comments!
TRIVIA ANSWERS:
#1-Sicario.
#2-King Bach
#3-Bottles finds out that Jacob used to be a stockbroker and starts calling him “Money Man” and from there was shortened to just Money.