While trying to survive the worst drought in history, a family of farmers force their youngest brother down a path of destruction; betrayed and left for dead in an unfamiliar land, he must survive, endure and seek the revenge he deserves.

Themes of family, loyalty, and obligation can be applied to many a film, but Frederick Cipoletti’s Desolate (2019) is one with an immersive setting and a rich narrative composed of a mix of genres — I definitely got western, gangster, and revenge thriller vibes. Set in an isolated countryside experiencing the worst drought in history, this independent film looks better than some mainstream films and it weaves a compelling tale about money, and even more so, about survival. I was pulled into this movie from beginning to end, and now I am thirsty for more Cipoletti films, who apparently is an expert filmmaker with good taste and perfect pacing.

In Desolate, a farming community seemingly in a world of their own struggles to live when an “isolated cataclysm” has stopped the rainfall. Some families left, but the ones who couldn’t afford to move resorted to other ways of survival such as human trafficking and drug dealing. After the murder of a brother and kidnapping of his wife, what’s left of the family Stone — father Duke (James Russo), eldest Kyle (Bill Tangradi), tough Parker (Jonathan Rosenthal), pissant Ned (Tyson Ritter), and black sheep Billy (Will Brittain) — are all left to mourn their loss. They soon learn that their brother was killed by another family and decide to take it upon themselves to avenge the murder, though youngest son Billy had other plans to run away. After he is reminded that blood is thicker than water, Billy becomes caught between a rock (the love of his life, Kayla (Natasha Bassett)) and a hard place (his family and the Stone name), and he is eventually forced to fall in line instead of following his heart, riding out to meet vengeful adventure with his brothers at the order of their father. All does not go to plan, however, and the brothers find themselves mixed up in a game of cats and mice after stealing bags of money from traffickers, and go on the run from the people they have crossed while exacting their plot of revenge.

In Desolate, the Grapes of Wrath meets No Country For Old Men (2007) and briefly shakes hands with Four Brothers (2005) to create a dystopian reflection on the self-caused woes of humanity. This movie has a little social commentary in regards to the current road we’re going down with climate change (it’s real, people!) since much of the driving force behind the characters’ decisions is the fact that their lives are so affected by a prolonged drought. That is only in the background though, as the movie is ultimately a revenge thriller. Each scene was heavier than the last as both the violence and emotional toll escalates, but this is one very watchable movie that wisely employs the ‘show and don’t tell’ film rule. I was able to piece together the background of the atmosphere as well as the motives of each character without having to sit through long, drawn-out explanations — thank you for this, Cipoletti and co-writer Rosenthal! Desolate mainly stars Will Brittain, Callan Mulvey, (as Billy’s mysterious savior, Van) and Tyson Ritter, but had a very large cast and many extras for an indie film. My favorite performance was, unfortunately, a short-lived one, delivered by Mark Kassen as the meth-dealing movie buff named Ray who supplies them with the means to start the brothers on their bumpy journey. The way the dynamic between the four brothers is written was truly something to marvel at, each had a distinct personality, and was punctuated by the performance of James Russo as the tough but dedicated father, Duke.

The sound mixing on this film is perfect; the film does not use much music, which left room for us to focus on hearing the wind cutting through the dead vegetation and dry dirt and made every action and element of nature seem exceptionally loud, drawing more attention to the desolation of their environment. The cinematography was also great! The whole movie had this “dirty sun” tinge to it that helped to create a dry environment. The Director of Photography must have been working overtime to make establishment shots picture-perfect, so much so that they looked like Dorothea Lange (Depression-era photographer) photos. The use of wide shots in many of the scene setups made this movie feel like it could even be a theatrical play, and the times when the framing moved out of one-room settings, my heart was racing because that usually meant some major action was going on. Desolate was surprisingly violent, and where at first it seemed like it would be a slow melodrama, this no-frills film did not skimp on the graphics as the body count begins to pile up early on.

One character laments “Around here, people either get erased or forgotten” but I’ll not forget this movie for some time; Desolate is probably my favorite of Uncork’d Entertainment’s summer releases. For a film that throughout its gritty unfolding sinks deeper into dark and depressing territory, this movie ends so beautifully and optimistically and is perfectly short and sweet. I honestly can’t say enough good things about this film! To see this movie for yourself, you can find it in limited release as well as digital platforms beginning July 12th.