Violent Ends (2025)
Directed by: John-Michael Powell
Premise: Set in the Ozarks, a junior member of a crime family (Billy Magnussen) seeks revenge when his fiancé (Alexandra Shipp) is murdered in a robbery.
What Works: Violent Ends is a neo-noir western and the film succeeds as a crime thriller with a specific sense of place. The story is set in the Ozarks and it begins with a classic crime family scenario. Lucas is the son an incarcerated family patriarch and in the opening scene Lucas announces his intentions to cut ties with his father. The hope for a better life is shattered when Lucas’ fiancé is murdered in a robbery, setting Lucas on a violent path. Revenge stories depend on creating a feeling of just rage that motivates the violence and allows the audience to enjoy it. The murder of Lucas’ fiancé does that effectively because the relationship between the couple is convincing. In just a few scenes actors Billy Magnussen and Alexandra Shipp make an impression that ripples through the rest of the movie. Magnussen has a unique ability to convey the capacity for both virtue and violence, making him very watchable. Violent Ends is full of criminal characters and the performances and costuming make these people feel part of their rural environment. Especially impressive is James Badge Dale as Sid, a rival family member looking to grab the whole business. Dale is frightening but he also conveys intelligence. This revenge tale plays out against the Ozark landscape and it’s well shot. The lighting is generally naturalistic and there is a brutal beauty to many images. That naturalism extends to the criminality and the violence. This film has a messy humanity that’s unsettling.
What Doesn’t: A few parts of Violent Ends don’t make sense. The family is divided into two criminal factions but Lucas’ mother Darlene (Kate Burton) is a police officer who has kept her sons out of the family business. Darlene leads the investigation into her extended family despite the obvious conflict of interest. She’s also apparently the only police officer in town. No one else shows up to the crime scenes. The story of Violent Ends is kicked off by the murder of Lucas’ fiancé. Women in these kinds of stories usually have a mediating or redemptive influence; we’ve seen that trope in John Wick and Unforgiven. But Lucas is already a good guy and he slips toward violence after her murder. The final scene is a flashback to the couple in happier days but it feels disconnected from the emotional and thematic direction of the movie.
Bottom Line: A few logical loose ends aside, Violent Ends is a satisfying crime thriller. It’s well crafted and has some good performances but also possesses a pathos appeal that elevates the material.
Episode: #1073 (November 9, 2025)