Director Tom McCarthy is best known for 2015’s ‘Spotlight’ that won the Best Picture Academy Award. His latest film ‘Stillwater’ starts off as a crime thriller. It surprisingly transitions to a deep character study. It’s a portrait of a man that is trying to find redemption. That’s why this film will resonate so deeply with audiences. The story places a very conservative man into a situation where he has to deal with a new culture, a language barrier and a different justice system. One character comments, “I don’t think Americans like to change.” That’s a powerful statement because when we travel outside the United States, it forces us to examine ourselves from a different perspective.
Matt Damon plays Bill Baker, a redneck from Oklahoma. He has worked on oil rigs his whole life. His daughter Allison (Abigail Breslin) is in France. She was studying abroad when she was convicted of murdering her girlfriend, Lina. She is five years into her sentence and insists that she is innocent of the crime. Bill regularly travels to Marseille to see his daughter. You can tell that their relationship is estranged but he stands behind her. During one visit, she passes Bill a note that she wants her lawyer to read. Bill makes sure to pass the note along but the lawyer views it as hearsay and will not open a new investigation. Bill decides to become detective but it leads to a dead end.
This is where the story gets interesting. It would be easy for Bill to just jump on a plane and return to Oklahoma. He becomes friends with a single French mother named Virginie (played by the talented Camille Cottin) and her precocious daughter Maya (a wonderful Lilou Siauvaud). Virginie is a part of the local theater scene. Her and Bill are complete opposites but the trio develop into a cozy family. He’s a blue collar conservative but bonds with the little girl. He teaches her English and she teaches him French. He picks up odd construction jobs to make ends meet. At one point, one of Virginie’s friends asks Bill, “Did you vote for Trump?” Because of his flawed past, he was unable to. Another asks, “Do you own guns?” He proudly says, “I own two, a shotgun and a Glock.”
As Bill makes a life for himself in France, you get the feeling that his daughter’s situation is never too far from his mind. He still wants to do whatever it takes to get her out of prison. This includes some unethical decisions in the third act that threatens everything is has worked up to. There is a telling scene where Allison is allowed to leave the prison for the day. She gets to go swimming and have a home-cooked meal with Bill, Virginie and Maya. She speaks to Virginie in French that Bill has been a “f**k up” all his life. She warns her that he will probably let her down. In a lot of ways, Allison is like her father. She seems to accept that both she and her father are messed-up people.
‘Stillwater’ is much more than a crime thriller. It is a character study on how our American idealism sometimes gets in the way of good intentions in a foreign land. Matt Damon’s strong performance makes the film work. The supporting cast is equally convincing too. Can the American anti-hero find redemption? That’s the question. ‘Stillwater’ is an interesting film and worth the price of admission.
