The Death Of Dick Long is...... a very weird movie but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The movie starts off in a very exciting and thrilling fashion as we watch the two main characters panic and drive someone who they are clearly close to as they bleed out to a hospital and then they throw him out into the parking lot of an emergency room. This opening scene puts you right into the film, your senses heightened and like everyone else you are trying to figure out what happened last night and how did the two main characters get into that point in their lives. I think that this film definitely works as a mystery thriller.
I think the movie does a great job of keeping you guessing and throwing curve balls at you that actually make sense. It keeps you on your toes, you don't know what's happening yet you are completely invested in these characters and in this story. A big reason why this movie keeps its thrills and suspense throughout its entire runtime is because the writing is amazing, it feels genuine and the movie is actually really realistic in terms of the characters and dialogue are like what most people have experienced in their lives at times. For a film that is so weird and different, it does a great job of being grounded and being easy for us viewers to connect with. Though the movie can be grounded and realistic it definitely has some times where it goes over the top, sometimes it works for comedic purposes and there definitely some genuinely funny moments but at other times it speeds up the pacing of the movie, negatively impacting the tone and making it a rough and just not so entertaining watch at times. This rarely happens but it happens enough that it is definitely a notable flaw in the film. I also don't think they did a great job with the big reveal for the film, like I said this movie works really well as a thriller/mystery and the comedy definitely works at times but the emotion is so off at first during the reveal it's hard to know what they are actually going for and at first it feels like a really twisted and bad joke especially because it feels so out of left field. I do like that there was more to the film then "what happened to Dick Long?" So I think the reveal happened at the perfect time but I thought the execution was lacking and the build-up was poor.
The Death Of Dick Long is definitely a unique story but the film is also very inspired by other one night thrillers. Like from a style and technical perspective it reminded me of a lot of Good Time. That's not a bad thing by any means, the film is great from a technical standpoint. I loved the camera work, the colouring was great and I loved the cinematography. It was a really well-crafted thriller. The acting was incredible, this cast was perfect and I loved the little mannerisms this cast nailed. Andre Hyland definitely delivered a fantastic performance and he's definitely someone I could see myself looking out for in the future. I also loved Michael Abbott Jr, he pretty much stole the show every time he was on screen. His dialogue delivery was outstanding and he is just a fantastic overall actor. The rest of this cast was also incredible and a lot of captivating performances were given that make this film much more watchable.
At the end of the day, The Death Of Dick Long is a good movie. You can tell everyone involved put a lot of effort into making this film as good as it could be. This movie is fantastic from a technical aspect but at times looks a lot like the film Good Time, the pacing is good but a lot of the execution in this film was horrible. The most important scene in this film sucks because they go at it horribly and really throws you off. The movie is weird and unique from a story perspective and can get very disturbing. The writing is alright, but the movie does have some great moments. The cast was incredible and this is definitely a movie I can understand why people like it and would want to watch it but I still think the movie is weird and isn't a film that everyone could enjoy and appreciate. Rating: 7.7/10