AFTER MIDNIGHT
"It'll be dark soon." So says a subdued murderer in Midnight in the Switchgrass (my latest review). "Switchgrass" is Florida Panhandle noir with a little deep-fried twang. Its plot may be conventional (law enforcement officials track down a serial killer) but there's some style to boot.
Bruce Willis and Megan Fox are on the front of the poster for "Switchgrass." Willis, well you wouldn't even know he was in the movie unless you saw said poster. Brucie has about 7-10 lines (which I'm guessing comes out to be about $100,000 per line). With a little nudge, he just manages to get those lines out.
As for Fox, well except for creating an interesting persona in 2012's This Is 40, Megan ain't much of an actress. Midnight in the Switchgrass isn't an awful film but it shows that Willis and Fox should probably never appear on screen together ever again.
"Switchgrass" is a flick that caters more to the deep performances by Emile Hirsch (he plays an FDLE agent) and Lukas Haas (he plays a sluggish psychopath). I guess they weren't sexy enough choices to headline the poster like Willis and Fox. Haas, who usually doesn't carry an entire film, does decent work here as menace Peter. It's strange seeing him in this type of role considering that he mostly panders to cameos and bit parts.
Midnight in the Switchgrass is directed by Randall Emmett. Emmett is normally a producer so this represents his first time behind the camera. Randall revels in stark images, flashbacks, weaving character arcs, and overhead shots. You can tell he doesn't want to be the bearer of direct-to-video gifts (which he kind of is). Sadly Emmett wants "Switchgrass" to be art but it's faux art. Oh well, I'll give him points for trying. Lipstick on a pig is better than no lipstick at all.
Written by Jesse Burleson
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