Feature Film Review #1 - Thunder Road

Thunder Road (2018)

Directed by: Jim Cummings

Written by: Jim Cummings

Produced by: Matt Miller

Starring: Jim Cummings, Kendal Farr, and Nican Robinson

Run-time: 92 minutes

It is not often that a film can make an audience erupt with genuine laughter while also evoking tears and genuine empathy.  Jim Cummings writes, directs, and stars in the hilarious and moving film, Thunder Road (the SXSW grand jury prize winner) that follows the life of a police officer who has lost nearly everything.  This heartfelt “tragicomedy” invites the viewer into a whirlwind of brokenness and beauty through a character that is both chaotic and kind all at once.  What began as a twelve-minute short film transforms into a 92 minute feature-film that eloquently displays the complexities of grief and hardship that all people go through in their life.

The opening scene begins with a close-up of a tattered, pink boom box and continues into a church where a funeral for Jim Arnaud’s mother is taking place.  Officer Jim Arnaud, played by Jim Cummings is a man of paradox. He is a goofy looking cop with a scrawny, non-intimidating demeanor -- mostly due to the ridiculous mustache on his face.  He is angry but sweet -- complex but simple.  His opening monologue that comes in the form of a eulogy to his late mother reveals the mess that is within him -- spilling out with every word he says.  He does not finish his sentences.  He weeps.  He dances.  He yells.  He whispers.  He mutters the words “I am sorry” repeatedly.

As Jim is practically removed from the front of the church, a woman proclaims to the funeral attendees, “Everyone grieves differently.” And, putting it simply, that is what this film is all about -- a man who is out of luck, grieving the loss of his mother, going through a divorce, and simply trying to be the best father he can be to his daughter, Crystal.

Through the stunning realness in the dialogue crafted by Jim Cummings, Thunder Road conveys the relationships that the character Jim Arnaud has in a way that is universal to the intricacies of human companionship.  Arnaud yearns for a relationship with his daughter, although he has great trouble connecting with her.  Crystal is a spunky character going into the fourth grade who is dealing with the repercussions of a broken family, moving between two houses.  The scene that introduces the daughter artfully displays the separation between the mother and the father.  Arnaud stays in the car, while the mother mostly keeps her distance while they engage in a witty exchange of words. He drives away with his daughter to take her home where he has worked tirelessly to make her a bedroom that he hopes she will love.  The shots of Arnaud in the car at different points in the film, including this scene, bring about both a sense of contingency and movement.

Thunder Road is Kendal Farr’s (Crystal) first feature film, but you would never think that based on her outstanding performance.  Crystal has behavioral and learning difficulties in school that is made known to Officer Arnaud in a parent-teacher conference. Thus, her character contains the narrative that instability in a home is detrimental to a child.  

The dialogue between Arnaud and the teacher is eccentric, bold, and believable.  Arnaud breaks down into tears when he learns that he has “passed down” his learning disability to his daughter.  The continued characterization of Arnaud through the dialogue makes him more likeable as the movie progresses.

The movie continues through a series of many long takes as we see the progression of Officer Arnaud’s journey into despair and mourning.  In the multiple montages that navigate through the experiences that Arnaud exacerbates with his moodiness and intensity, Cummings uses a score that he personally crafted. In a Q&A that was held after the showing of Thunder Road at the Cannes Film Festival, Jim Cummings shared his process in creating the score. In the tracks, he constructed them by using similar chord structure and progressions as in Bruce Springsteen’s song, “Thunder Road.” For the first track, he used his girlfriend’s ukulele to create the simple, but beautiful melody.  For the next one, he used the organ that was in his mother’s home.  To close the film, an instrumental version of Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love” plays. The beauty and simplicity of the song brought me to tears. Cummings explained that this generations “Thunder Road” is “Skinny Love.” That is what makes the music so intimate and special. Every little detail of the film is personal, which further contributes to the sincerity of the story.  It is difficult to fully grasp every detail of the film in a single viewing, and I think that is the beauty of it.

Each scene make you want to laugh and cry, and sometimes you don't even know which would be appropriate. The character of Officer Arnaud that Jim Cummings remarkably brought to life through the beautiful cinematography, empathetic dialogue, and raw acting all intertwines to reveal the crises that so many Americans face.  It deals with addiction, the dwindling job market, and the loss in hope that so many people face because of their situations.  Although the movie begins to come to a close with the devastating loss of Crystal’s mother, it ends with a glimmer of hope. The scene where Arnaud comforts his daughter after she finds her mother dead was perfectly crafted in every word he said. He says to Crystal, “When someone chooses to leave, it doesn’t mean they don’t want to be there with you.”

As Crystal and Jim sit in the ballet together, Jim quietly sobs while Crystal is enamored by the beauty of ballet that Jim’s mother devoted her life to.  The close-up shots of Jim throughout the movie and in the final scene invite us to truly be in the thick of it all with him.  The togetherness of both comedy and drama within Thunder Road make for a job well done for Jim Cummings.  The movie ends with a gentle hope that there is much more beauty in laughter to come for both Arnaud and Crystal.  

Overall Grade: A