I have this theory that states “the more you say you are something, the less of that something you tend to be.” Last year, there were a few films that called themselves “modern westerns”. From the ones I saw, that is a debatable term at best. In the year of our Lord 2026, Normal comes along and restores my faith in the genre without even saying it is part of said genre.
Ben Wheatley, director of the HIGHLY underrated Free Fire takes the helm here with the writer both of the Nobody films and ALL of the John Wick films in Derek Kolstad (with Bob Odenkirk contributing) to bring the town of Normal, Minnesota to life. Ulysses Richardson (Bob Odenkirk) has taken the job of Interim Sheriff of the town while they elect the replacement for their recently passed-on sheriff. Dealing with issues of his own, he takes the gig to try and find some direction, and while doing so stumbles on the town’s secret that makes one blizzard-ridden night an eternity for him… to survive.
With a supporting cast that includes Lena Heady and Henry Winkler, Normal takes a TIGHT ninety minutes and packs it full of action, fun, and a ton of “oh ****” moments that finally proves that the old school style of western CAN translate to a modern setting. Think Twin Peaks meets Last Man Standing with a bit of Fargo and even a bit of Die Hard in it, and you can scratch the surface here.
Odenkirk is on a heck of a roll in the last few years with the projects he picks, and this is no exception. The argument could be made that this is the same guy he has played in the Nobody films (and that is valid, especially since there are a number of parallels to this plot and Nobody 2, but I ain’t complaining), but when it works that is not a bad thing. He plays Ulysses by balancing the subtleties of what he is dealing with outside of Normal (interesting reference there, and unintended) with the madness around him with a calm and cool that makes him that much more of the action hero that this role calls for. I can’t go too deep without flirting with spoilers here, but once the action picks up, the kills here rival that of the Sisu films in a way that even a horror wuss like me was able to watch and be entertained by.
Respect also has to be given here to veteran action cinematographer Armando Salas, who had to have read this script and went “Wait, HOW bad is this blizzard again?”. Yes, it’s THAT bad, and he handles it masterfully by making sure everything is exactly where it needs to be in the frame, giving even more of a sense of the peril that is going on in this sleepy little town.
Normal is the type of film that truly delivers on the action and thrills that it advertises, and I have no issues at all recommending this to anyone that is a fan of the genre. And even though it has never claimed to be a “modern western,” I am not afraid to claim it for them. THIS is how that is done.