An ex-Marine grapples his way through a web of small-town corruption when an attempt to post bail for his cousin escalates into a violent standoff with the local police chief.
Synopsis
Terry Richmond brilliantly played by fledging star Aaron Pierre enters the town of Shelby Springs on a simple but urgent mission– post bail for his cousin and save him from imminent danger. But when Terry’s life’s savings is unjustly seized by law-enforcement, he’s forced to go head to head with local police chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson) and his combat-ready officers.
Terry finds an unlikely ally in court clerk Summer McBride (AnnaSophia Robb) and the two become ensnared in a deep-rooted conspiracy within the remote township. As the stakes turn deadly, Terry must call upon his mysterious background to break the department’s hold on the community, bring justice to his own family– and protect Summer in the process.
From the acclaimed writer/director of Green Room, Blue Ruin and Hold The Dark, Rebel Ridge is a deeply human yet high-velocity thriller that explores corruption and morality in the context of bone-breaking action and ever-coiling suspense. Produced by Anish Savjani, Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino and Jeremy Saulnier, Rebel Ridge also stars David Denman, Emory Cohen, Steve Zissis, Zsané Jhé, Dana Lee and James Cromwell.
Is Rebel Ridge based on a true story?
No, but you’d be forgiven for thinking it might be. “This film is not based on a particular incident, but elements of it could certainly happen,” Saulnier said. “I’m interested in examining corrupt systems — not so much how they’re built, but how they persist.” The specifics of Terry’s journey in Rebel Ridge — legal challenges, police harassment — won’t be strictly familiar to every viewer, but his push against the boundaries of Shelby Springs’ bureaucracy will ring true to anyone who’s been stuck on the line with their phone company for hours.
“For this movie, I wanted to tap into how the rest of us react to said [corrupt] systems,” Saulnier said, “from corrupt politicians down to the endless loop of a customer service call gone wrong.”
