Review: The Locusts

Set in Kansas in the 50s, drifter Vince Vaughn gets a job working as a hired hand on widow Kate Capshaw’s ‘feed lot’, as well as a place to stay. However, he might end up getting more than he bargained for when interfering in the lives of Capshaw (who likes to bed down with her hired hands, it is rumoured) and her mute, emotionally disturbed son ‘Flyboy’ (Jeremy Davies) who was once institutionalised after his father’s death. Vaughn and the painfully shy ‘Flyboy’ bond, which the power-mad Capshaw doesn’t much seem to like. Disturbing family secrets are eventually unearthed, and Vaughn himself appears to be running from past troubles. Ashley Judd plays the town tramp, who has a heart of gold, Jessica Capshaw and Paul Rudd play another young couple who befriend Vaughn.

 

If you’ve ever wanted to see a version of “Hud” where Paul Newman was actually the good guy (and played by the shitty Norman Bates), and just about everyone else was turned around to be the bad guy, then this 1997 Southern Gothic melodrama from writer-director John Patrick Kelley is for you. Unfortunately, the film was such a colossal box-office flop that it would appear few people wanted to see such a scenario, and Kelley hasn’t turned up in the movie biz ever since. Nope, not even a short film or TV credit to his name, it would seem. That’s a shame, because aside from one piece of major miscasting, it’s pretty enjoyable, especially if you like Southern Gothic melodrama and film noir. I kinda liked it (It’s up my alley, genre-wise), even if it’s ultimately no “Hud”, and the constant chirping of cicadas (not locusts) on the soundtrack drove me up the freakin’ wall.

 

The cast is eclectic and interesting, I must say. The seriously gigantic Vince Vaughn (this is the first time I’ve seen just how tall the guy is, barely fitting through a door frame) might initially seem an odd fit for the brooding, drifter character. However, the James Dean-esque veneer of the character eventually turns into something deeper. Vaughn, usually cast as slicksters or whackos, is genuinely sympathetic here in a fine dramatic performance. I’m not normally a fan of Jeremy Davies’ extremely mannered performances, but this is one of his best and most subtle. Either that or all his tics and mannerisms simply suited the part for a change. Just as was the case in the underrated “Simon Birch”, Ashley Judd is simply luminous here in a similarly sweet and kind-hearted performance that will make you fall in love with her. I know I would’ve, had I not already fallen for her in “Simon Birch”. Hers isn’t a large role, but her performance is easily the most memorable thing in the whole film.

 

The film’s biggest stumbling block is Kate Capshaw in a kind of Gloria Grahame meets Bette Davis type role. Best known for marrying Steven Spielberg, Capshaw simply isn’t a good actress (not even in “The Temple of Doom”), but more importantly, she’s completely inappropriate for this role. I know the character is meant to be a bitch, but she’s also meant to be sexy and alluring. Capshaw’s ice-cold, stiff as a board, and not at all sexy. I just didn’t buy her at all, and it stops the film from being more than it could’ve been. Kate’s debuting daughter Jessica Capshaw (an underused actress) is much better, though her role is barely existent.

 

There’s really not much to say about this film, it’s an engrossing (if brooding, brutal, and unpleasant) watch for those who like the Southern Gothic melodrama mixed with some film noir. It’s not trying to reinvent the wheel, it’s not really doing anything that films of the 40s and 50s had already done, but it does it pretty well. I really don’t know why it flopped, to be honest. Worth a look if you’re into this kind of thing, certainly, and Ashley Judd is simply gorgeous.

 

Rating: B-