Movie Loner

Victor Nunez is one of those filmmakers who goes unnoticed. He gave Ashley Judd her breakthrough role in Ruby in Paradise, and guided Peter Fonda to a Best Actor nomination in Ulee’s Gold. He produces, writes, directs, and even operates the camera on the majority of his projects. His most recent effort, Coastlines, is another small-town Florida story about characters at a crossroads. Not his best movie, but still worth seeing.

Sonny Mann (Timothy Olyphant) just returned home after a stint in jail. Welcoming Sonny’s return are his father, and best friends, Dave and Ann Lockhart (Josh Brolin and Sarah Wynter). Less than thrilled to see Sonny are his old crime buddies, Eddie Vance and his Uncle Fred. The Vances owe Sonny $200,000 but have no intention of paying. Instead, they blow up Sonny’s house, killing his father. A wounded Sonny moves in with Dave, Ann and their two girls to recover.

Dave, a local cop, tries to convince Sonny to stay away from the Vance boys. An angry Sonny ignores Dave and plots his revenge. Meanwhile, dormant feelings between Sonny and Ann resurface. Bored with her dull life, Ann finds the brooding Sonny hard to resist. While growing closer to Ann, Sonny unhinges a dangerous plan to take out the Vances. Dave, unaware of the affair, risks himself to save his friend.

Olyphant and Brolin deliver strong performances playing counterparts in love with the same woman. Nunez is very adept at nuance. He avoids hack plot twists, electing to let the straightforward story unfold. The Florida landscape is not as prevalent as in his previous films, but he still manages to deftly capture the coastal beauty of our southern most state. Like all his work, Coastlines is a labor of love for Nunez. Despite meager budgets he always produces quality movies. Coastlines is no exception.

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