Moving from being in front of the lens on the gridiron to behind the lens as a director, Simeon Rice scores big with his “Must See” debut as writer/director with “Unsullied”. Filled with goal to goal winning immersive tension and action, “Unsullied” is visceral and visual in concept and execution. And let’s not overlook at breakout debut performance by Murray Gray.
Reagan is a track star. Living to run, her drive is fueled by the memory of her sister, also an athlete, who disappeared some years back. As if haunted by her sister’s ghost, Reagan runs like there’s no tomorrow. Felled by car trouble on a lonely backwoods road in Florida swamp country, for whatever reason, Reagan chooses this to be the moment to not run, and instead sits and waits for help to come.
After passing up help from an older scraggler in a paneled white van who gives off some rather skeevy vibes, Regan opts to accept help from a couple of friendly strangers, Noah and Mason, who offer a ride in their pick-up truck. (Obviously the fact that one of the pair, Noah, is hotter than an August night in Alabama, was part of the decision making process.) No sooner than Reagan gets in the pick-up than she is chloroformed, only to awaken gagged and bound in a shack. But she’s got company; a cute young waitress we saw Noah ogling at just a day or two before.
While our waitress seems to prefer whining and crying and to be the victim, Reagan doesn’t and manages to escape only to have Noah and Mason hot on her heels in a too-die-for nighttime game of cat and mouse through the muggy Florida wetlands. Racing through heavily wooded areas, as well as diving off “Hangman’s Cliff” into gator filled waters below, Reagan is running the race of her life.
As Reagan, Murray Gray make a more than impressive debut in this starring role. With a strong athletic background, which includes holding a black belt in a karate discipline, not to mention theatre training, it’s as if Regan was tailor-made for Gray. Displaying some fancy acting footwork, Gray makes Reagan more than a one-note thanks not only to her emotional grounding, but also due to the development of the character on the page by Rice and co-writer John Nodilo, as they provide backstory which is beautifully realized through flashback visuals at Reagan’s darkest moments.
Not too shabby is Rusty Joiner as Noah. Taking advantage off every opportunity to show off his very well-chiseled abs, is delicious as the evil Noah. Joiner brings a level of charm to Noah that provides resonance and believability for Reagan’s succumbing to “help” from a stranger. James Gaudioso walks the fine line of psychosis as the loose cannon Mason, serving as a terrific counter-weight to Joiner. Notable is a beautifully poignant and understated performance from Cindy Karr as localite Claudine Willfellow, an older woman who relies on these “nice boys” for help around her property and bringing business to town.
Written and directed by Rice and co-written by John Nodilo, “Unsullied” boasts a solid thru-line, strong characters and high production values. Characters are fully fleshed out and well defined while some surprising plot twists keep the audience on its toes. Tension and suspense are palpable.
But the real strong suit of “Unsullied” is Simeon Rice’s direction. Likening directing to coaching, it’s not a far stretch to believe Rice capable of directing a film. Seeing him execute it with this high degree of skill is something else! For Rice, this palpable emotion and tension was key to the film’s construct. “I like it where you can feel. I want people to feel like they’re in this movie. I want them to run with her. I want them to be in frame. I want her point of view but I still want to use traditional shots.” Calling on cinematographer Scott Winig, “He loved it as a concept but he thought it was too out there. I said, ‘Trust me. This is gonna work. Trust me.’ . . . And then we do it and we cut it down to a daily and he – he’s from NY – he has no problems telling you he don’t like something and he hates those Go-Pro shots and cameras like that – but when we looked at it, he was “It worked. I can live with it.” And when we got it put together, he was like, ‘Wow! You really have a discerning eye.’ We worked well together. We really worked well together.” And that collaboration shows in the final product.
LISTEN: Simeon Rice talks about the cinematography of UNSULLIED and working with Scott Winig
The visuals are rich and saturated, creating a heightened sense of reality that mirrors and fuels the adrenaline rush of Reagan’s story. Shooting night for night, the result dazzles with inky reflection while flashbacks are designed with softer, natural lighting that is golden and softer, warm to the touch. Putting an indelible stamp on “Unsullied”, Rice “[W]anted to juxtapose that because these are different times, a different feeling, a warmer feeling. I wanted that natural blend to take you out of one environment to a whole other environment where you can understand. The environment becomes a character and it sustains what she’s going through. And it sustains what you feel. Those little narratives I just felt like helped build the story.”
Also buttressing the film is the incorporation of the topographic environment into key plot points. As Reagan is running and meets the obstacle of the cliff, a brief moment allows both her and the audience to take a breath as the cliff becomes an escape rather than an obstacle. The cliff then leads to the gator infested waters that lead to the Gulf and then back to a swamp and forest and a blooming rose tree which is one of the most exquisite metaphoric moments in the film. There is nothing gratuitous in the story’s design.
Chase scenes are choreographed by Rice as if running the length of the football field, bobbing and weaving players right and left. By having Winig go hand held with cameras following Gray in the woods, the result is effectively dizzying and intense. Hand-in-hand with the work of Rice and Winig is that of editor Andrew Cohen who keenly cuts, designing rapier pacing to match the moves of Gray. And let’s hear it for the sound design! Pristine sensory experience. Shooting on location in the wooded suburbs of Tampa, complete with heat, humidity and bugs, only adds to the authenticity.
LISTEN: Simeon Rice talks about the “bug spray budget” and mosquitoes
Icing on the cake is Jason Solowsky’s eclectic and subtle scoring.
As writer and director, Simeon Rice keeps his eye on the ball and scores a touchdown with “Unsullied”!
Directed by Simeon Rice
Written by John Nodilo and Simeon Rice
Cast: Murray Gray, Rusty Joiner, James Gaudioso
