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Rebel Ridge

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Rebel Ridge
Release poster
Directed byJeremy Saulnier
Written byJeremy Saulnier
Produced by
  • Anish Savjani
  • Neil Kopp
  • Vincent Savino
  • Jeremy Saulnier
Starring
CinematographyDavid Gallego
Edited byJeremy Saulnier
Music by
  • Brooke Blair
  • Will Blair
Production
companies
  • Filmscience
  • Bonneville Pictures
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • September 6, 2024 (2024-09-06)
Running time
131 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Rebel Ridge is a 2024 American crime action thriller film written, produced, directed and edited by Jeremy Saulnier. The film stars Aaron Pierre as Terry Richmond, a former Marine who has the funds needed to post bail for his cousin unjustly seized via civil forfeiture by a small town's corrupt police force. Don Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, David Denman, Emory Cohen, Steve Zissis, Zsané Jhé, Dana Lee, and James Cromwell also appear in the film.

Rebel Ridge was released by Netflix on September 6, 2024 to positive critical reviews.

Plot

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Terry Richmond, a Marine Corps veteran, cycles into the town of Shelby Springs, Louisiana to post bail for his cousin Mike Simmons and buy a pickup truck so they can make an honest living. He is rammed and detained by two police officers, Evan Marston and Steve Lann, who seize his $36,000 via civil forfeiture, despite the money being legitimate.

The courthouse clerk, Elliot, refuses to help Terry. Another employee, Summer McBride, promises to prepare the forms in case Terry can get the required $10,000 before Mike's Thursday transfer to state prison where he would be in danger for informing on a gangster. Terry goes to the police station and tries to report the cash as stolen to Officer Jessica Sims. He is confronted by Lann and police chief Sandy Burnne. Terry offers to drop the matter if he gets $10,000 back for bail and is told to return and resolve the issue on Monday.

On Monday, Terry arrives at the station but is told that the bus transferring Mike has just left. He catches up on his bike and tells Mike to stay safe until he posts bail. Terry calls his former business partner Liu but is informed that he can no longer send money because police raided his restaurant. Terry returns to the station and repeats his offer but Burnne refuses despite saying it was reasonable. A close quarters combat expert, he subdues Lann and Burnne, and forces Sims to hand over the bail money and help him escape. Terry manages to post bail with Summer's help but is detained.

Terry is taken to a hospital by Marston and Burnne. The chief tells him that Mike was stabbed after processing and offers the remaining $26,000, the truck he was going to buy, and to not pursue charges if he leaves town. Terry accepts and is informed by hospital staff that Mike has died. While getting a ride out of town that evening from Summer, Terry declines to help her investigate cases of people being held in jail for 90 days over misdemeanors.

That night, after picking up the truck, Terry receives a call from Summer, who was injected with drugs by police, and returns to help. The next morning, she must take a urine test after the court is informed about her drug use, which jeopardizes her child custody. As Terry leaves town, Lann flags him down, throws a gun into his car, and shoots him. Terry escapes and regroups with Summer at Liu's restaurant, where Liu, a Chinese medic during the Korean War, patches him up.

That night, Summer and Terry interrogate Elliot and the judge, who reveal a coverup to avoid transparency measures imposed after a legal settlement nearly bankrupted the town. People are held for 90 days on misdemeanors where they are unable to get public defenders to seek production of their police dashcam arrest footage before the data retention period expires. Terry and Summer break into the courthouse basement and retrieve the SD cards as police arrive and start a fire. He escapes, but she is captured trying to destroy her urine sample.

Terry and Lann arrange a swap: Summer for the cards at Rebel Ridge the following morning. While Lann and an armed police contingent wait at the exchange site, Terry breaks into the police station using the truck and subdues Burnne. He gives Sims a loaded gun believing that she is "Serpico" (the officer who provided information to Summer). But Sims detains Terry as the cops return. Lann destroys the cards and reveals that Summer is at risk of overdosing. Marston protests, which makes Terry realize that he is actually "Serpico”. Marston is shot in the femoral by Burnne and starts bleeding out. Burnne tells the cops to kill Terry and pin Marston's death on him, but Terry defeats the officers who approach him, including Lann.

Marston tells Terry to activate a police cruiser siren, saving the previous three minutes of dashcam footage, and walks Terry through administering Narcan on Summer. The three flee in the cruiser with police in pursuit. When ordered to do a PIT maneuver, Sims takes out Burnne's vehicle instead and detains him. The remaining cops escort them to the hospital and report that state police are incoming. Marston and Summer are admitted, while Terry secures the incriminating dashcam footage and sits in a hallway.

Cast

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Production

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In November 2019, John Boyega came on board to star in the film, written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier.[1] In February 2020, Don Johnson, Erin Doherty, James Badge Dale, Zsané Jhé, and James Cromwell were added to the cast.[2] In April 2021, AnnaSophia Robb and Emory Cohen joined, with Robb replacing Doherty.[3]

Filming was slated to begin in April 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4][5] Principal photography eventually began in Louisiana on May 3, 2021.[6] In June 2021, Boyega left the project during filming due to "family reasons". Filming paused as a result in order to find a replacement for Boyega.[7] It was later reported that Boyega had allegedly abandoned the project due to a variety of reasons, including his dissatisfaction with the script and his accommodations, although Boyega denied such allegations.[8] In October, Aaron Pierre replaced Boyega.[9] In April 2022, David Denman was added to the cast to replace Badge Dale, before production restarted on April 25.[10][11] Production wrapped on July 24.[12] In March 2024, Saulnier said the film was in the final stages of post-production.[13]

Release

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Rebel Ridge was released on Netflix on September 6, 2024.[14] The film amassed 31.2 million views in its first three days (September 6–9) and 38.6 million more the next week (September 9–15).[15][16]

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 112 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "An intelligent and gripping vehicle for Aaron Pierre's star-making performance, Rebel Ridge lays down the law on its action-thriller contemporaries."[17] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[18]

References

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  1. ^ Kroll, Justin (November 7, 2019). "John Boyega to Star in Netflix Thriller From Green Room Director (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on August 13, 2024. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  2. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (February 25, 2020). "Don Johnson & More Join John Boyega In Rebel Ridge". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 27, 2024. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  3. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (April 19, 2021). "AnnaSophia Robb & Emory Cohen Set For Netflix Thriller Rebel Ridge". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  4. ^ "Rebel Ridge". Backstage. Archived from the original on July 28, 2024. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  5. ^ "Every Netflix Production Halted Due to Coronavirus". What's on Netflix. April 22, 2020. Archived from the original on August 19, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  6. ^ Robb, AnnaSophia (May 3, 2021). DAY 1 of #RebelRidge!. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2021 – via Instagram.
  7. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (June 3, 2021). "John Boyega Exits Netflix Movie Rebel Ridge Mid-Shoot, Family Reasons Cited". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  8. ^ Sharf, Zack (June 23, 2021). "John Boyega's Abrupt Netflix Movie Exit: Agent Denies Report He Left Without Telling Anyone". IndieWire. Archived from the original on August 11, 2024. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  9. ^ West, Amy (October 19, 2021). "John Boyega replaced by Krypton star in new Netflix movie". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  10. ^ Kit, Borys; Masters, Kim (June 23, 2021). "Behind John Boyega's Abrupt Exit From Netflix's Rebel Ridge". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 7, 2024. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  11. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (April 11, 2022). "Netflix's Rebel Ridge Due To Get Back Underway This Month After Long Hiatus; 'Mare Of Easttown' Actor Joins". Deadline. Archived from the original on June 21, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  12. ^ Saulnier, Jeremy [@saulnier_jeremy] (July 24, 2022). "Wrap on REBEL RIDGE. Third time was indeed a charm. Eternal thanks to the cast and crew for their collective art and cinematic fortitude. Now, a donut and a nap" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Lambie, Ryan (March 6, 2024). "Rebel Ridge | Jeremy Saulnier on the 'tumultuous' production on his Netflix thriller about 'a militarised police force' (exclusive)". Film Stories. Archived from the original on June 4, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  14. ^ Grobar, Matt (July 24, 2024). "Aaron Pierre Thriller Rebel Ridge From Blue Ruin's Jeremy Saulnier Unveils Netflix Premiere Date, First-Look Photos". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  15. ^ Campione, Katie (September 10, 2024). "Rebel Ridge;; Puts Up Strong Debut Weekend On Netflix As The Deliverance Gains Traction; The Perfect Couple Thrills In TV". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  16. ^ Campione, Katie (September 17, 2024). "Rebel Ridge Continues Netflix Reign As The Perfect Couple Tops TV; Emily In Paris Season 4B & Uglies Debut In Second Place". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  17. ^ "Rebel Ridge". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  18. ^ "Rebel Ridge". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
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