YOU CAN’T RUN FOREVER (2024) review

written by: Carolyn Carpenter and Michelle Schumacher
produced by: Randle Schumacher
directed by: Michelle Schumacher
rated: R (for violent content including suicide, language, drug use and brief sexual content)
runtime: 102 min.
U.S. release date: May 17, 2024

It’s understandable how the folks at Lionsgate greenlit a thriller headlined by J.K. Simmons, but they must’ve done so without reading the script for “You Can’t Run Forever” or watching a final cut. To say the Oscar winner carries the movie is an understatement. In fact, he had to have gotten swoll from all the heavy lifting on this project, considering he’s acting circles around everyone here. It doesn’t help that there’s nothing suspenseful or thrilling about an utterly flat and limp exercise in ambivalent cold-blooded killing.

The movie has a curious cold open, in which a stranger on a motorcycle stops at a remote gas station. Off to the side, a small dog barks incessantly while its owner futilely shouts. A man and a woman seated nearby watch it all play out. Acknowledging how annoying the noise is, the stranger walks over to the dog owner, pulls out a gun, and shoots the guy in the head. Then he walks toward the other two and shoots the woman in the throat, and when the man asks why he’s doing this, the stranger asks, “Why does it matter?” and proceeds to end that man’s life as well.

The stranger leaves one witness, a young woman cowering by her vehicle at a pump. Oddly, he lets her live. There may be a reason for that later on, but it initially seems to be a plot convenience. After all, a survivor will be questioned by the inept local police that will arrive, but it may also just mean that this stranger, a man in his late sixties, has a thing for young women.

The only thing intriguing about this opening is that Simmons plays the stranger. He only has that one line, but the way in which the Oscar winner delivers it is fitting, considering his facial expression and body language up to that moment. It sets viewers up for what to expect from this protagonist (and antagonist) and that matters very little regarding his motives. This is someone who’s just gonna get his kicks from killing people off, and we could potentially get a kick out of Simmons portraying such a character.

The key word is “potentially.” A talented actor like Simmons, who can seemingly play anything, can bring his A-game, but it all depends on the material. In this case, director Michelle Schumacher co-wrote the screenplay with Carolyn Carpenter, and neither of them figured out how to establish and maintain tension in “You Can’t Run Forever.”

Apart from Simmons’s character, Wade, no one stands out in the entire movie. Maybe Simmons felt obligated to assume the role since he’s been married to Schumacher for almost thirty years. Their daughter also has a small role, and Schumacher’s brother, Randle Schumacher, produced it, further confirming how much of a family affair this endeavor was. Either Simmons felt obligated, or he just wanted to play a cold-blooded murderer without a preference for quality material.

So, after that introduction, the movie introduces other characters that will Wade’s bizarre bloodlust impact no doubt. There’s Eddie (Allen Leech), who’s expecting a new arrival with this pregnant wife, Jenny (Fernanda Urrejola), expanding their blended family, which also consists of his daughter Emily (Olivia Simmons) and Jenny’s daughter, Miranda (Isabelle Anaya), both of whom were products of each spouse’s previous respective marriages. Not long ago, Miranda’s father died, and since then, she’s dealt with her anxiety in unusual ways, such as climbing high up trees.

One morning, Eddie takes Miranda on an errand to pick up a bassinet, hoping to get her to open up and connect with her. That opportunity is over when Wade pulls up alongside the pair, who have stopped on the roadside. He knocks on the driver’s window, interrupting the conversation Eddie is trying to instigate. The two dismiss him, and Miranda brushes him off with profanity. When Wade takes out a gun and holds it up so they can see it, the duo peels off ahead in their vehicle. Wade immediately follows, and since Eddie is flustered and doesn’t know what to do, the motorcycle catches up, and Eddie winds up dead. Miranda escapes into the nearby woods (the movie was initially called “The Woods”), hoping to find a safe hiding place and a solution to cell phone signal issues. Wade pursues her on foot, meeting anyone along the way (sorry, hunters and campers) with a fatal bullet.

The problem with following a character who does whatever he wants without reason or conscience is that it makes us care even less about the character. We should be invested if he doesn’t care – even about being caught. It’s not enough to say it’s fun watching Simmons lean into such a mean and nasty role. When Schumacher and Carpenter provide a backstory for Wade, it’s so flimsy that I, too, couldn’t help but ask, “Why does it matter?”

This is a movie that could’ve benefitted from going a little crazier. There are attempts, like when Wade interacts with his dead victims as he goes through their belongings. He sits in the passenger seat where Miranda is and carries on a conversation with her dead stepfather. It’s twisted, funny, and uncomfortable – like when Wade pleases himself right then and there after viewing a photo of Miranda’s mother in a swimsuit. Such perversity doesn’t add much to the story or Wade’s characterization, primarily because there’s no consistency to it. Indeed, there’s a darkness to Wade, but we only see shades of grey here.

There’s a subplot involving the aforementioned inept policy that doesn’t do much more than drag the momentum of the survival thriller this movie wants to be. To be fair, Deputy Morgan (Andres Velez) and his colleagues are more green than inept. They haven’t had to deal with anything like this in their remote area (the movie was filmed in Montana, but I don’t recall anyone getting specific with locations in the storyline) so it’s understandable that Wade can seemingly run everyone all over the place. It’s also comical that all the officers are young “deer in headlights” while the town is searching for the sheriff. The manhunt is about as pathetic as you’d expect.

As “You Can’t Run Forever” loses steam, it tries to include too much, like suicide and accidental drug use. One can’t help but wonder what would happen if the movie was paired down to Wade hunting Miranda for most of the movie. Including all these characters only deludes the tension and derails the pace, ruining the potential of such a nightmarish scenario.

RATING: *1/2