★★★½
“Better living through crime.”
Mary (Benko) moves in to a new Brooklyn neighbourhood, along with her husband, John (Gorn) and teenage son, Johnny. But neither of them are comfortable, the middle-class morality being an ill fit for John’s career as a bank robber. Unfortunately, John has an addictive fondness for gambling, which leads to him being gunned down on their front porch. This leaves Mary excluded by most of the other residents, and in a precarious financial position, unable to find legitimate employment. Eventually, she convinces John’s sketchy associate Sean (Godere), to bring her on board for his next robbery, and Mary discovers a hidden talent for such activities. This brings with it a new-found inner confidence in her everyday life.
The film reminds me of Monica la mitraille, though that was based on a real bank-robber, while this appears entirely spun from fictional cloth. However, it has the ring of plausibility to it, writer-director Enright creating characters and situations which feel distinctly lived-in. Mary’s character arc is strong and well-defined. She begins as someone stuck in an abusive relationship, though it seems only a matter of time before John’s self-destructive behaviour does, indeed, self-destruct. The question throughout it, how far will her subsequent path mirror that of her late husband? The police are circling, not least because of the media fuss resulting over the unusual gender of this criminal, nicknamed “Machine Gun Mary” by the press. There are also suggestion Mary may be growing a fondness for gambling too.
It’s this tension which pulled me along the narrative. It does occasionally lean too hard into the obvious tropes – I may have rolled my eyes at the “one last job” plot point, with Mary repeatedly stating she’s only doing this so she can provide for her son. In addition, none of the male characters are anywhere near as well-developed as the heroine. However, it manages to avoid relying entirely on them – or, at least, twists them in interesting ways. For example, the relationship between Mary and Johnny’s teacher doesn’t unfold as expected. Nor does that “one last job” turn out the way you think, although with hindsight, I could perhaps have predicted the resolution.
You should not expect much on the action side of things, since this is, understandably, limited. While she does wield the automatic weapon after which Mary is nicknamed, this is purely for intimidation purposes. A few rounds loosed into the ceiling is more than sufficient, and she doesn’t shoot anybody, because she does not need to do so. Mary is smarter than that and, with the possible exception of the detective on her heels, is clearly the most intelligent person in the movie. She is definitely the least in thrall to the seductive addiction of criminal activity. However, how far will that take her, in a game where the house – by which, I mean the authorities – always win, sooner or later? That’s the key issue here, and I found it more than enough.
Dir: Kerry Ann Enright
Star: Tina Benko, Michael Godere, Lev Gorn, Dane Zagarino