In 2015, Australian actor/director Joel Edgerton delivered a slick slice of suspense with The Reward — a story of a pair having their lives negatively impacted by the return of the husband’s previous classmate.
Jason Bateman (Ozark) and Rebecca Corridor (The Night time Home) play married couple Simon and Robyn. They transfer again to Simon’s hometown in California for a recent begin of their relationship. Not lengthy after transferring, Simon bumps into an previous pal named Gordo, performed by Joel Edgerton (It Comes At Night time), and the pair rekindle their friendship.
Sadly, Gordo seems to be holding onto a grudge about one thing from their previous and occasions start to take a darkish and sinister flip that can damage the lives of Simon, Robyn, and everybody they know.
The Reward That Retains on Giving
The movie showcased Jason Bateman’s dramatic chops earlier than Ozark made them extra obvious, and the more and more unsteady relationship between Simon, Robin, and Gordo crackles because of director Joel Edgerton’s chilling flip because the disgruntled former classmate and Bateman’s chameleonic household man.
Edgerton didn’t simply direct and star in The Reward. He additionally wrote and produced this early Blumhouse hit. It proved to be an honest crucial success for the first-time director, incomes a 77 rating on Metacritic. The surprising revelations of its ending have been seen as controversial of their implications, however the agonizingly uncomfortable journey to that time largely pays off because of the primary forged’s performances.
Edgerton would return to directing three years later with Boy Erased, which starred Lucas Hedges (The Zero Theorem), Russell Crowe (The Pope’s Exorcist), and Nicole Kidman (The Others). It noticed an outed homosexual teen pressured to attend a conversion camp or be exiled by his household.
The Reward might not be what you’d contemplate a traditional, however it stays one of many strongest thrillers to be launched in recent times. Edgerton’s abrasive strategy to the story ensures it stands out.
