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THE TOLL (2021)
The Toll poster

CAST
ANNES ELWY
MICHAEL SMILEY
GARY BEADLE
DARREN EVANS
PAUL KAYE
GWYNETH KEYWORTH
EVELYN MOK
DEWI MORRIS
STEVE ORAM
IWAN RHEON

WRITTEN BY
MATT REDD

CINEMATOGRAPHY BY
ADRIAN PECKITT

EDITED BY
JOHN RICHARDS

MUSIC BY
RAEL JONES

PRODUCED BY
MARK HOPKINS

DIRECTED BY
RYAN ANDREW HOOPER

RATED
AUS:MA
UK:NA
USA:NA

RUNTIME
83 MIN

 

 

 


The Toll image

An energetic and witty dark crime comedy featuring a strong lead turn by Michael Smiley, The Toll marks the arrival of Welsh duo, director Ryan Andrew Hooper and writer Matt Redd, as one to watch.

Now here is an example of how a film can blend its influences with its own identity to make for a unique film. There is no doubt Hooper and Redd have utilised the films of the Coen Brothers, Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino as the blueprint for The Toll, yet so to does their country of Wales, especially the county of Pembrokeshire, play a big part in this entertaining genre piece. Wales is not known as a hub for filmmaking talent, yet the emergence of Gareth Evans (The Raid), Lee Haven Jones (The Feast), and now Hooper and Redd is sure to change that.

The Toll stars Michael Smiley as the suitably named Toll Booth, a toll operator in the small Welsh village of Dale, whose unassuming, mysterious nature hides a criminal enterprise that taps into all corners of his village. When a figure from his dark past makes his presence known, Toll Booth makes moves to counter this threat while trying to stay one step ahead of incorruptible town sheriff Catrin (Annes Elwy.)

With a runtime of 83 minutes, The Toll is as lean and tight a thriller as they come, Hooper taking Redd’s excellent script and creating a world where small town crime has big time consequences, with high stakes felt throughout. Driven by an excellent Mariachi-esque score by Rael Jones (Shoplifters of the World), The Toll utilises a flashback structure to tell its story in which eccentric characters, ranging from Elvis impersonators to racist milk store clerks and psychotic shotgun wielding triplets, all descend upon the carefully constructed world of Smiley’s tool booth operator.

Sometimes it feels a little too eccentric for its own good, yet such are the results of a film that wears its ‘90s crime comedy influences so proudly.

Smiley is aces in his first lead, delivering that stone-cold poker face intensity that is part and parcel of a character who uses the mundane to mask his Machiavellian nature. Good too is Annes Elwy as the one sane person in a town riddled with cranks. Supporting turns by Paul Kaye, Iwan Rheon, and Gwyneth Keyworth are also strong, such are the benefits of an ace spirit.

The photography by Adrian Peckitt (In Me) captures the beautiful tapestry that is this part of Wales, bringing a different feel, a different element to a sub-genre of film transparent in its influences, yet unique in its application of them.

*** 1/2

 

 

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Created and Edited by Matthew Pejkovic / Contact: mattsm@mattsmoviereviews.net
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