It’s time to go down in the woods today and be sure of a not-so-big surprise in the new indie drama RANGE RUNNERS.
A young Black American woman, Mel (Celeste M. Cooper) , who failed to make the team because of a drugs scandal, now runs and runs like Forrest Gump across American trails whilst reminiscing about her deceased father’s determined and ruthlessness as she trained to make the Olympics. Her sister, who is the mother of a three-year-old, rides with her and helps out with some moral encouragement and support as she goes to the next phase of her incredible trek.
During her latest transition in a huge mid-American forest, she runs into a guy, Jared (Michael B. Woods) who appears to have a wound or two and helps dress him. However, a mate of his, Wayland (Sean Patrick Leonard) is also there and bemused as to why Mel is helping him. Whilst stopping off later on at a wooden cabin in the woods where she beds down for the night, she is greeted by the two men who are in need of starting a fire. When she hands her knife to Wayland, it is clear that these men aren’t really in need of help…
Echoing the likes of FIRST BLOOD and I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, this is the bog-standard woman-in-jeopardy film we have seen many times over the years, which subverts the expectation somewhat with the lead character being a diverse and determined individual. It’s not a bad film for all that and the physical challenges that Mel goes through are portrayed a little more convincingly than when Stallone was battling the township in the original 1982 hit.
The disappointment here is not so much the essence of what this film is trying to be, but the fact that the character arc of the film appears to belong in a different film, with the numerous flashbacks that Mel has with her father seeming to tell a different story. This is something that needs to be addressed more by film-makers, as there have got to be more diverse and imaginative tales to tell involving a female protagonist like Mel.
Cooper is fine in the lead role and acquits herself admirably against Woods and Leonard, who fill the boots of two rather vicious antagonists with all the trimmings and wood chippings that a good old-fashioned chase-through-the-forest yarn provides. There are moments of intensity and a few shocks (and there is one twist that if you have seen the likes of the 2010 remake of I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE you will spot a scene or two off!) and that is where the film will appeal to the fans of the genre.
Overall, the film was a missed opportunity, but Cooper has the potential to go much, much further with more competent performances like the one here.
