One Way (2022) Review: In the 1970s, Hollywood blessed us with an abundance of masterpieces. While film history is filled with rich and timeless works, this particular period gave rise to an ageless style of filmmaking borne out of rebellion against the studio system. Creative decisions were deliberately made to break the conventional form of storytelling that gave us thrilling works pulsating with the vibe of the cities and of the lives of the people it portrayed.
Andrew Bird’s One Way (2022) is made with the same passion and rigor that feels a little too similar to Safdie Brothers’ Uncut Gems (2019). While it doesn’t reach the same level as an adrenaline rush, it manages quite well as a thriller.
One Way stars Colson Baker in the central role of Freddy, known as Machine Gun Kelly, who became popular for getting dissed by Eminem. Jokes apart, this rapper-turned-actor stars in this noir crime thriller in the role of a petty criminal.
The story, which is primarily a guy-on-the-run narrative, follows his journey of trying to escape to a faraway land with the hope of not getting caught and staying alive. He gets on a bus with a one-way ticket from downtown Los Angeles to the deep California desert in the hopes of a smooth escape. He runs away with a bag full of cash and coke, stolen from his mafia boss. To add to the stress of stealing, he is also bleeding due to a bullet in his gut and is running out of time. He does not just need to escape but also needs a blood transfusion to stay alive.
While the stakes are this high, the camerawork amps up the drama by putting us incredibly close to the characters. For the majority of the film’s duration, we just see bits of Freddy’s face while hardly ever seeing his facial expressions. There are very few parts where the film is letting Colson emote on his own. While that may also have been due to his limited acting skills (because of which they don’t want to show his complete face!), this creative decision heightens the impact of the adrenaline rush while going along with the state of delirium his character goes through due to the constant bleeding. Only when showing his demons haunting him through this journey do we get to see his face through a few glimpses in between. While the decision to introduce this demon as a person often induces cringe, it is a tool that conveys his mental state and the introspection during these seemingly final moments for his character.
Different people from Freddy’s life appear as obstacles in this journey and impact his life one way or the other. The Mexican drug baron, Vic (Drea de Matteo, known for ‘The Sopranos’) who he has stolen money from, is looking to get hold of him. His tumultuous relationship with his father Fred Snr. (Kevin Bacon) becomes apparent through their conversations in this heady ride. His only goal seems to be to suck any sense of life out of his own son.
A teenage girl traveling on the bus, named Rachel (Storm Reid) becomes his source of life and helps him get hold of his emotions about his family, what to do with his wife, Christine (Meagan Holder), and his daughter, while he is descending deeper and deeper into this dark pit. Will (Travis Fimmel, known for his role in ‘Vikings’) makes up an interesting element that is integral in Colson’s journey.
With so much acting talent involved in it, One Way makes up for an intense, emotional ride where the responsibility to make it work falls on the shoulders of their performances. They reveal more about Freddy than the actor playing the character ever could. The moral dilemma where Freddy’s whole life flashes before his eyes and makes him look in places he had avoided, makes up for a highly engaging drama.
The thrilling elements are brought to the table largely by the impeccable editing and camerawork that do not let the attention drop from the screen. The suspense wears thin since the narrative is fairly predictable. And the script lacks the required material to add depth to Freddy’s character beyond the conventional elements. So while One Way (2022) is a taut thriller, it doesn’t have enough meat to make us care about its central character.
