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    Detour

review by Bobby Blakey

Some of the best movies that come along are those that you never see coming. Sadly these are often hard to find or rarely never seen. The latest Detour from Magnolia Pictures stars Tye Sheridan, Bel Powley, Emory Cohen and Stephen Moyer with director  Christopher Smith at the helm.

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Detour follows Harper, a seemingly naive law student, obsesses over the idea that his shifty stepfather was involved in the devastating car crash that left his mother hospitalized and comatose. He drowns his suspicions in whiskey until he finds himself suddenly engrossed in conversation with volatile grifter Johnny and his stripper companion, Cherry. As daylight breaks and the haziness of promises made become clearer, how will Harper handle the repercussions (not to mention the violent duo—on his doorstep)? This is one of those movies that delivers an engaging story but is a bit hard to stick with at times. I enjoyed the multiple narrative of it all and how they crafted something to keep you intrigued as it unfolds. There are moments that do not seem to make that much sense early on, but if you can stick it out it does all come together. The performances are all decent and work, but at the same time they all seem to be a bit too laid back for some of the actions that are occurring here. If I had one complaint outside of it being a bit strange it is that the structure tends to never let you get the full effect of everything going on. It bounces around so much that it loses some of the effectiveness it might have had otherwise, but at the same time this is also what helps it stand out.

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This is one of those films that won’t work for everyone, but does offer up a familiar story in a unique way that works. I enjoyed the film overall and think it is worth checking out, but you do have to be willing to stick it out until the very end for the full effect. Decide for yourself and check out Detour available now it hits theaters, On Demand, Amazon Video and iTunes from Magnolia Pictures.

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