Inspired by a true story and seemingly a kind of sweet and sour partner to the 1997 documentary, this one’s on the sour side (not a bad thing.)The new fictionalized One of Those Days tells the story of twenty East Texans who, if lucky enough, have their name drawn; get to compete for a new pick up truck. Just continuously touch it without lifting a finger or leaning or sleeping on it and, if you’re the last one standing, the truck is yours. It takes days.
Is it a slow character study that will be at home in an art-house theater? Yeah, but as I watched it a second time, something I rarely do, I realized that German (Texas-based) director Bastian Günther had turned something mundane and monotonous into something resembling a True Crime or Mystery movie. It’s exactly the kind of film one finds himself in the mood for from time to time. The score really helped, too.
Of the large cast, we are focused on just a few, British actor Joe Cole plays a working man with a new baby, a possibly cheating wife, and a car that leaves him stranded more often than not. In other words- we have a character for which winning a truck could be a life-changer, and those are exactly the stakes one needs and gets. The other character, Joan (a pitch perfect Carrie Preston) plays the PR lady for the car dealership. Why is she there? I mean, story-wise- she’s there to give us some shading and detail of the kinds of people who live in that town and each have bigger motives than we could have guessed going in.
This is the best Art-house film of the year to date. See it twice! And don’t be in a hurry—the final act is told out of sequence – showing us the days leading up to the big contest. Brilliant move from a screenwriting angle.
One of these Days | rated R | 2 hours| 3 ½ out of stars
