Normal (2026)
Two minute spoiler free film review
“Sheriff Ulysses” (Bob Odenkirk) Parachuted in to small town Normal, Minnesota for 8 weeks on a “temp job” and within a Coen Brothers/Fargo/Minnesota Nice era town he intends to leave “just the way I found it”, Ulysses narrates his life to the audience as well as a letter to his estranged wife on the “dark” circumstances and nightmares that have landed him in this incredibly wealthy and prosperous one horse town in the middle of a snowbound nowhere. The laissez-faire style of the “guest” from out of town is perfectly suited to the “low grade shenanigans” of the locals until he discovers a beeping alarm, a robbery in progress at the local bank, and suddenly his new friends become his latest enemies as the sleepy town of Normal functions perfectly, with or without him.
Directed by Ben Wheatley (“Down Terrace”, “Kill List”, “Free Fire”, “High Rise”, “Sightseers”) I expected far more from a director I’ve been obsessed with since 2009 when his debut film left me with my jaw on the floor in astonishment, Kill List scared the pants off me, and Sightseers is a melancholic take on love for the ages, especially if you’re a psychopath!
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Here, Bob Odenkirk is superb (when isn’t he?) and Henry Winkler is clearly having a huge amount of fun with his cameo. I wanted more. But I always do from Ben Wheatley. Better than 2023’s “Meg 2 The Trench”.
But that’s hardly a ringing endorsement!
“Dear Diary” is a new concept I’m running with for the new year. Short, punchy, irreverent, spoiler free, telling you everything and nothing about that day’s particular journal entry. Here’s today’s entry. Do check back in tomorrow. After you’ve tempted yourself with one of these beauties I self-published either side of Christmas 2025:
