Road Gang: A Quick Trip to Misery

Is this worth your time?

If you like movies that feel like a punch to the gut and don't care about a happy ending, sure. It’s not exactly high art, but it’s got a mean streak that makes it watchable. If you’re looking for something breezy or light, stay away. This is pure, unadulterated suffering for the sake of the plot.

You’ve got Jim and Bob, two reporters who thought they were smarter than the guys running the city. They weren't. One minute they’re printing headlines, the next they’re in stripes being told to pick up rocks in the heat. It moves so fast it almost feels like a trailer for a longer film.

The warden is the highlight here, if you can call it that. He’s the kind of guy who probably enjoys stubbing his toe just to feel something. There’s a scene where he’s watching them work, and the way he just stands there, hands on hips, feels way more threatening than a long monologue ever could.

It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in 20, 000 Cheers for the Chain Gang. But where that one had a bit more room to breathe, Road Gang is just hammering away at the same note for an hour.

Small things I noticed:

• The uniforms look incredibly uncomfortable. You can practically hear the fabric scratching the actors.
• There’s a guard in the background who looks like he’s never held a rifle in his life. He just sort of cradles it like a baguette.
• The shadows in the prison yard scenes are surprisingly sharp. It makes the place feel like a furnace, even in black and white.

The pacing is a disaster, honestly. It starts at a sprint and just stays there, which makes it hard to actually care when the 'sad' stuff happens. You don't have time to feel bad for these guys because they’re already off to the next miserable event.

It’s not trying to be a meditation on anything. It’s a movie that wants you to be angry for eighty minutes. It does that well enough. Sometimes, a movie just needs to be a blunt instrument, and this one certainly qualifies.

I caught myself looking at the clock around the forty-minute mark, not because I was bored, but because I wanted to see how much more they could throw at these poor guys. The answer was: a lot more. Too much, maybe?

Anyway, it’s a relic. A dusty, mean little relic that doesn't care if you like it or not. ⛓️