[yasr_overall_rating]
In the dark heart of a sprawling, anonymous city, “Terminal” follows the twisting tales of two assassins carrying out a sinister mission, a teacher battling a fatal illness, an enigmatic janitor, and a curious waitress leading a dangerous double life.
Margot Robbie has come a long way since her stint on the Australian TV show “Neighbours.” Believe it or not, I used to watch it with my ex back in Ireland many years ago and let me tell you, you’re not missing much. She came to prominence as Leonardo DiCaprio’s second wife in Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street,” garnering much praise for her performance and the rest, as they say, is history. She went on to star in “Z for Zachariah,” “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,” “The Legend of Tarzan,” “Suicide Squad,” and received her first Oscar nomination for her portrayal as disgraced American figure skater, Tonya Harding in “I, Tonya.” With as much clout as she now has, she put it to good use with the low-budget “Terminal,” producing it as well. Unfortunately, her double whammy as star and producer does nothing to improve the overall narrative, which is a pity because there is a talented cast at work here.
The story takes place one night in a dark, dreary city, its name or location never mentioned, possibly somewhere in England as all the characters involved speak with British accents or maybe somewhere in Europe. The story revolves around a run-down train terminal, which looks like it hasn’t been used in years. Most of the plot takes place inside the End of the Line Café, a pitstop on the way to nowhere. It is run by Annie (Margot Robbie), a kooky and kaleidoscopic waitress with a passion for all things death. When Bill (Simon Pegg), an unemployed English teacher who’s dying from a mystery illness, turns up at the café, she humors him as he talks about wanting to end his life. Instead of showing sympathy, she indulges his request by suggesting all manners of self-slaughter, from a gunshot, to stabbing, to jumping in front of a train, with Annie, nothing is off limits.
Meanwhile, two small-time gangsters, Vince (Dexter Fletcher) and Alfred (Max Irons), share an apartment, when they’re not offing other gangsters. Their boss is the mysterious Mr. Franklyn, who only ever contacts them via phone, and then gives them instructions for whatever their job entails. When the young and cocky Alfred falls for Annie in the café, she begins to lead him astray, putting all sorts of thoughts and daydreams into his head and while Vince makes his way back home, he receives a phone call from Mr. Franklyn who tells him that in order to advance up the ladder, he must kill his partner. At the same time, while Alfred is visiting with Annie in the café, the old train station janitor, Clinton (Mike Myers), appears and gives him a message from Mr. Franklyn, the exact same message his partner received but first, they must wait in their apartment for two weeks for Franklyn’s phone call, each unaware of their individual assignments. Before the night is over, Annie, Bill, Clinton, Vince, and Alfred will interact with each other in ways they never imagined and their lives will be changed forever.
“Terminal” looks phenomenal, thanks to cinematographer Christopher Ross. While the movie takes place in one big interior location, he adds layers of claustrophobia, evocative of Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner,” which makes you want to get up and open the front door, just to take a breather. The stifling stench of unventilated air permeates into every crevice of the locale, and every character seems to become infected by it, their every objective becoming more and more depraved, as they sink into a bottomless pit of despair. When the big “twist” finally reveals itself, instead of just letting it sink in and ending the movie on a high note, the character proceeds to tell us, the audience, exactly what happened, step by step, in excruciating detail, thereby ruining what chance the film had to be elevated above the norm, and instead, weighs it down with even more unnecessary exposition. Imagine if at the end of “The Usual Suspects,” customs agent Dave Kujan, after realizing Verbal’s entire story was a lie, ran into the next room and proceeded to tell the entire story his fellow officers in depth, it would sort of defeat the whole purpose of the ending being a “surprise,” and sadly, that’s exactly what happens here. The acting from all involved is top-notch, it’s just a pity the story isn’t there to back them up.
Available on Blu-ray & DVD Tuesday, June 26th
