‘A Desert' Review: Motel Hell
It's in the nature of stories like this to offer its hero the reprieve of a disruption, and it arrives, violently, in the form of Renny (Zachary Ray Sherman), a lanky, keyed-up stranger Alex befriends at a roadside motel. Renny is clearly bad news, and for about 40 minutes, it seems obvious where 'A Desert' is going. But Ekrman's screenplay is slyly intelligent, and in the second act the film takes a sharp turn that is genuinely shocking.
Erkman's use of stark lighting — high beams cutting through the desert night — evokes 'Lost Highway,' and there's some 'Mulholland Drive' in the underworld theatrics detailed on the story's periphery. Lynch is a difficult influence to wield responsibly, yet Erkman keeps it largely under control: 'A Desert,' if at times too ambitious, certainly feels distinct.
It's a strange film, but it works, and feels grounded, because of its ensemble cast. Both Lennox and Sarah Lind, as Alex's wife, Sam, are serious and convincing, and the musician David Yow, as an oddball private detective following in Alex's wake, gives the movie some idiosyncratic flair. But the highlight is Sherman, whose menacing Renny is truly creepy and, when he really goes berserk, electrifying.
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