Chloé ValmaryDecember 3, 2024
When a tragicomic noir thriller meets the biting irony and despairing characters of the Coen brothers, the result is “LaRoy”. Awarded at the 2023 Deauville Festival, this first feature film by Shane Atkinson transports spectators to a dusty Texas where the absurd rubs shoulders with violence. A work not to be missed this evening on CINE+ OCS for fans of offbeat thrillers.
A noir thriller in Texas: between humor and despair
First released at festivals, where it caused a sensation, notably in Deauville, “LaRoy” tells the story of Ray (John Magaro), an ordinary man overwhelmed by events. The latter is a likeable loser, stuck in a dull life and humiliated by his unfaithful wife, a former beauty queen.
As he prepares to end his life in a dingy motel room, a misunderstanding will turn everything upside down: he is mistaken for a hitman. And here he is, despite himself, embarked on a spiral of violence and lies, to which he responds with a mixture of clumsy improvisation and deadpan humor.
The film’s universe is based on an aesthetic that is both realistic and fantasized about a desert Texas, where dust, shabby motels and palpable tension reign. Shane Atkinson manages, from the first minutes, to establish a setting and an atmosphere reminiscent of the best noir thrillers.
The heart of the story lies in the dynamic between Ray and Skip (Steve Zahn), an amateur detective with a vivid imagination. This improbable duo gives rise to situations that are by turns hilarious and tragic.
We laugh at their clumsiness, we are moved by their failures, and we can’t help but become attached to these magnificent losers.
A declaration of love to thrillers and the Coen brothers
If we had to place “LaRoy” in a cinema family tree, it would be a distant but respectful cousin of classics like “Fargo” or “Blood for Blood” by the Coen brothers. Shane Atkinson appropriates the codes of thriller noir and tragicomedy to weave a deeply human story, without ever losing sight of the absurdity of the situations or the fragility of the characters.
Ray, who initially seemed condemned to a dull life, ends up revealing himself through incredible adventures. We then witness a subtle metamorphosis: this passive and resigned character finally takes matters in hand, and redefines his own existence.
This journey, as touching as it is funny, is a direct echo of the great themes of the Coen brothers’ cinema: mediocrity confronted with implacable evil, the absurdity of destiny and this ability to find a burst of humanity in the midst of chaos.
too soft can be seen on CANAL+.
