Film Exposure

Starting out in the thriller genre is no easy task. Once you’ve come to terms with the fact that the budget is going to be tight no matter what, you have to get everything else right. You have to find the right idea, the right location, the right actors and the right crew. But mostly, you have to write the right script. Has filmmaker Francis Galluppi, who delivers his directorial debut here, got enough right to stand out? Let’s see: One location, a dozen characters, one bag full of money, a few guns, and rhubarb pie. Sound familiar? It is… but wait!

A travelling knife salesman en route to visit his daughter stops at a gas station in the middle of the desert to fill up. Bad luck: they’re out of gas, so he has to wait in the diner for the fuel truck to arrive. Soon, the place fills up with various people who are also stranded here, including two bank robbers who are on edge and eager to get to the border as quickly as possible.

Galluppi, who writes, directs, and edits, has a knack for efficient character introductions. In the span of about 30 minutes, he presents us with a gallery of characters that are all easily identifiable and who are all different enough to stimulate the viewer’s interest. A few lines, a few shots, and we get a pretty clear idea of who they are. It helps that the cast does a terrific job, with Jim Cummings leading the pack as a reserved but ultimately opportunistic salesman. His demeanour, his looks, his way of moving around all work in his favour, painting the picture of an everyday man who happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, helping to pull the audience in this initially static but soon to be nerve-wracking situation. Another standout is character actor Richard Brake, who just has the perfect face for his role.

But the addition of new players every few minutes unavoidably means that we lose sight of our protagonist for a little while – maybe a good half hour, actually – and whether that works or not will depend on the person watching. Our salesman does remain in the background, while Charlotte, the diner’s waitress, takes centre stage. We think it makes sense, emotionally speaking, but then, the narrative switches gears again to focus on another character for a little bit, and then another.

Essentially, what Galluppi strives for is to create a tense, razor-sharp situation where every new, unexpected element could trigger a catastrophic chain reaction. Of course, we know the point of no return is coming at some stage, and he manages to build up the tension quite efficiently, relying on a clear geography of the diner, and on purposeful, powerful close-ups of the actors. But if we know it’s coming, we don’t know when, and that might surprise the viewer.

The script, as mentioned before, might just be the most important weapon a contained low-budget thriller can have, and Galluppi’s script is pretty tight. It relies on stereotypes, of course, as there is neither time nor intent to reinvent the rules of the genre here. It is all about using them as smartly as possible to deliver an impactful ride, and the film does just that. Each new addition to the ensemble creates a new layer of tension, another direction in which the story could go. Sure, some details are going to come close to threatening the suspension of disbelief (That many people have heard about the bank robbery? Well, except that one, of course!), but it’s often par for the course in the genre. Accept a little stretch, and the film can reward you twofold.

One thing the writer toys with a little is the expectation of pay-offs for every set-up, or at least everything that looks like it might be a set-up. Small-scale thrillers like this one often rely on such narrative mechanisms to encourage audience involvement, and The Last Stop in Yuma County is no exception, multiplying potential Chekhov’s guns, eventually selecting only a couple of those to reach the story’s denouement.

Galluppi’s direction works fine within its confines, showcasing a strong handle on the spatial environment and on the way character interactions are filmed, though it sometimes feels like there are some reaction shots or inserts missing. It might very well be due to time and budget, but their absence is felt several times during the film, as it makes it seem like some scenes do not affect all characters the same way (even when they should).

But no first film operating in this genre can truly stand out without a bit of an edge, and this film’s secret weapon is its dark humour. Not everybody is going to see it, but it’s there, in the way greed always wins over self-preservation, in the way the film tells us right from the beginning that hope is a fool’s errand, in the way it chooses who lives and who dies, in the way that we slowly understand that all these people might not have just reached the “last stop in Yuma County”, but perhaps even…

Is the travelling knife salesman really our protagonist? He’s the only one without a name. Even characters that are on screen for two minutes have names. They have a personality, clearly defined characteristics. Him? He’s just kinda us, and that’s what’s funny. Tell me you’d have done things differently in his shoes.

The Last Stop in Yuma County harnesses the power of the contained single-location thriller to deliver a tense, smart, and efficient directorial debut. Francis Galluppi proves adept at writing memorable characters and situations he can set up very quickly, and while his direction is appropriate, it is missing a little something to fully capitalise on the script’s strengths. Perhaps a bigger budget will allow him to soar to his true potential in the future. We’ll keep an eye out for what he does next.

The Last Stop in Yuma County – No European release date yet
Directed by Francis Galluppi
With Jim Cummings, Jocelin Donahue, Richard Brake