“He’s a real nowhere man, sitting in his nowhere land, making all his nowhere plans for nobody. Doesn’t have a point of view, knows not where he’s going to. . . Nowhere man please listen, you don’t know what you’re missing, nowhere man, the world is at your command”.
A slightly abridged version of the first verse and chorus of The Beatles’ iconic song “Nowhere Man”, these mesmeric lyrics tell the tale of a man afloat in his life with no anchor – lacking the passion, drive, and spirit to make him truly whole. Very much akin to the central character in 2021’s Nobody, an action packed film written by Derek Kolstad (the scribe behind the John Wick franchise) and directed by Ilya Naishuller, Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk), is suffering from middle class (and aged) ennui.
Though that last statement may sound more like something from Mike Nichols’ The Graduate than an action packed extravaganza, this is a far cry from a character drama. Hutch lives the same life week in and week out. . . rapid fire hyper-stylized editing capturing these regimented, drag-me-down routines. Despite having a cute family, which includes wife Becca (Connie Nielsen), feisty teenage son Blake (Gage Munroe), and loveable Abby (Paisley Cadorath). . . and let’s not forget his old-folks-home living father, David (Christopher Lloyd), he is stuck in a dead end job working for his father-in-law Eddie Williams (Michael Ironside) and rudderless brother-in-law Charlie (Billy MacLellan). Plus, there are other issues. . . the bond that was once so strong between husband and wife is fraying, he has not seen his brother from another mother, Harry (RZA), in ages (they can only communicate by way of secret radio frequency), and, perhaps more dangerously, two lowlifes break into his home looking for money. Curbing his rage (he has the drop on one of the thieves with a golf club), it does not take long for his son to lose respect, and both investigating cop and next door neighbour to ridicule his lack of manly/family protection.
Suppressing a long bottled up past, Hutch is somehow able to keep his anger in check. . . until he discovers his daughter’s kitty cat bracelet seems to have been stolen along with the cash. The final straw, it unleashes a beast in the man that has long been desperate to get out. A former Adjustor for those mysterious three-letter American agencies, he was the last man sent in for the most troublesome of problems.
Releasing his pent up rage in a fantastically energetic, brutally edgy, and darkly comical scene set on a bus, Hutch takes out his frustrations on a group of brash, drunk, terrorizing twenty-somethings looking for some fun. Unbeknownst to him, he has bashed an important thug to an inch of his life. . . the brother of a big and most barbaric Euro baddie, Yulian Kuznetsov (Aleksey Serebryakov), this is the type of guy to perform an epic Eurovision style song at his nightclub, only to slash a guy to shreds with a martini glass minutes later. He even carries an added layer of protection with him in a very rare black Russian, Pavel (Araya Mengesha) – a most treacherous henchman. Igniting the wrath of this art collecting, money hoarding, Euro pop singing mafioso, he will throw everything at this long retired now family man. . . but will it be enough?
Casting against type, this John Wick infused story brings with it different layers that are rarely explored in Kolstad’s successful franchise. With Odenkirk not being the Keanu type, this comedy writer turned comedic/dramatic actor brings with him an underdog aspect that you just don’t get in the action trilogy (as Reeves is completely believable as the Boogeyman). You’ve really got to give Odenkirk credit. . . preparing for the role for two years, take a look at the footage online of him training so that you can truly appreciate what he has done to make this a realistically shot picture. There is also a fantastically dark comedic edge to the narrative (something Odenkirk naturally helps bring out of the story). . . something not as noticeable in the Wick trilogy. I would also like to mention Christopher Lloyd at this point. . . at first seeming like he won’t have much to do (other than watch some westerns on his tv), it is great to see him have some memorable moments as the movie enters its second half.
Another exciting aspect that shares similarities with recent pictures like Atomic Blonde and Baby Driver is its creative use of music (and the editing that goes along with it) – perhaps not fully surprising, as the former’s director, David Leitch (also the co-director of John Wick), serves as a producer (in fact, Tobey Maguire does too). Featuring a stellar soundtrack, Nina Simone’s eerily beautiful “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” opens and closes the piece, while an adrenaline fueled car chase roars with “Heartbreaker” by Pat Benatar. There is also a cheeky scene set to Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World”, and the aforementioned bus scene intros with the perfectly suited “ I’ve Gotta Be Me”, performed by Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé.
A wildly entertaining, energetic, and beautifully shot action picture, Nobody is the type of film that truly deserves a franchise to follow (let us hope Covid does not stop this from happening). Firing on all cylinders, the cast thrives, the director enhances each and every scene, and the music pops. Featuring an almost Home Alone inspired ending that is even wilder than Skyfall’s climactic event, this is action personified. A final note – keep an eye out for The Barber (Colin Salmon – M’s trusted number two through the Brosnan era Bond films), despite only having a cameo in this one, he might just play a pivotal role if we get those above mentioned sequels. So, don’t be a nowhere man (or woman), be somewhere – a movie theatre specifically, and see this sensationally volatile venture.