The Pace Of a Quarry
Any time you put three actors I really like in one film, it's time to sit back and enjoy. Usually. Scott Teems's film "The Quarry" brings together Michael Shannon, Shea Wigham (Take Shelter), and Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace). Shannon and Moreno are very good. Wigham isn't believable, but whether it's the writing, directing, or acting that is at fault is tough to determine.
The Man (Wigham) as he is credited, is in a heap on the side of a dusty West Texas road, when a reverend (Bruno Bichir) in a van comes by and helps him into his vehicle. On the ride, the reverend does all the talking, presumably because he is chugging wine. The Man says almost nothing.
They eventually pull up in a rock quarry to rest. The reverend is on his way to start a new job in a sparsely populated area nearby. At the quarry, the reverend continues to yack and proselytize. He is annoying, but The Man's reaction is a bit over the top: he crashes a bottle into the reverend's skull, killing him. He then buries him in a shallow grave that he digs with his hands. The Man's next move is to assume the dead man's identity, traveling to the tiny town where the reverend was slated to preach.
His residence is to be shared with Celia (Moreno), a persistently unhappy person who does little but sit around and stare into the distance. The only times she almost shows some life is when John (Shannon), the police chief, drops by for sex. They're more than just friends with benefits, but not by much.
On his first night in town, The Man leaves the reverend's possessions in the van, against the advice of Celia. The next morning, everything has been swiped from the van by a young man and his younger brother, who are cousins of Celia. John is called to investigate.
While the investigation and incarceration are going on, The Man begins his preaching to the local flock. He's pretty bad at it, but since only one person in the congregation speaks English, it seems to go unnoticed.
The truth unfurls. Very slowly. Between The Man's lack of talking and a pace that is unbelievably snail-like, you almost expect everyone to stop moving. To top it off, the ending manages to almost belong in a different movie. There should be lots of tension in a story like this, but there is precious little here. The title of the film is probably meant to invoke both meanings of the word quarry, but like everything else here, it really doesn't matter.
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