Black RoadIgnoring the voice in your head warning you about trouble is sure to get you into trouble. Black Road is a neo-noir detective story set in the near future of 2029; several states have declared autonomy, including "Jefferson", located in the Pacific Northwest. An ex-military specialist and cyborg named Dylan (Sam Daly) comes to Jefferson to reunite with his long lost love, Sarah (Michelle Lombardo), only to discover she has moved on. As Dylan struggles to find work, he becomes entangled in a web of backstabbing and deceit between the seductive Lisa (Leilani Sarelle) and her husband, Sterling (Simon Templeman), over a matter of buried treasure--all while the cybernetic support unit in his head named "Clyde" (Andrew Wilson) warns him to leave it all behind.
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Although Black Road is set in the future, most of it paradoxically takes place in the rural backdrop of Jefferson, where futuristic elements--like Dylan's "sleeper" firearm--are rare. It hints at (but never obsesses on) what life in this fractured union is like, to avoid detracting from the neo-noir plot of the svelte film that clocks in at just under an hour and a half. The opening titles and a brief backdrop of an urban sprawl behind Dylan as he enters the "Free State of Jefferson" are the some of the most familiar tropes of the cyberpunk genre found in Black Road, but do not return for the rest of the film. (For reference, the creation of a Pacific state called Jefferson has been an ongoing effort for over half a century, and may come to fruition in the near future.) Dylan has grown accustomed to the conveniences of civilization away from Jefferson, and struggles to support himself until he crosses paths with Lisa. Dylan's primary reason for coming to Jefferson was to win his way back into Sarah's heart, and is heartbroken to discover that she has become pregnant by her new lover and local cop, Bruce (Danforth Comins). Dylan sulks while crashing at her house, and mulls over old videos from their childhood, showing that their friendship has been a long one. Dylan hides his hurt poorly, and he doesn't hesitate to defend Lisa's honor in the bar where Sarah is performing. But this comes less from wanting to be a "white knight" to a "damsel in distress", and more from macho posturing to publicly scorn Sarah. Dylan is generally a decent guy, but his weakness is that judgment is often impaired by his emotions. Clyde initially comes across as a nagging and even annoying know-it-all; but Dylan needs a guiding voice in his head, since he frequently gets in over his head, despite his military training that should suggest a disciplined mind. Lisa gives Dylan the cold shoulder at first, but after he saves her from being assaulted twice in quick succession, she takes him back to her house and they have sex. The morning after, she tells Dylan that she is afraid for her safety because she suspects that her husband sent the last night's assailants, and she commissions Dylan to arrange a "settlement" between them. After he trespasses onto Sterling's property, the hippie weapons manufacturer blindsides him with something resembling a mystical power. Lisa may have been telling the truth about how dangerous Sterling is, but the plot becomes more complicated as he discovers that she concealed so much more from him. Dylan loses his ability to distinguish friend from foe, and is knocked about like a shuttlecock between the feuding couple over a matter of buried gold that each claims the other has.
Dylan often ignores Clyde's counsel, convinced that he's doing the "right thing", even when it is evidently foolish or naive; and when Dylan doesn't want to listen to Clyde at all, he removes him from his skull and shoves him in a safe. Despite being motivated by seemingly noble intentions, his ignorance becomes his signature character flaw. Clyde warns Dylan not to go to Jefferson because it will be difficult for them to find "work" and because Sarah clearly doesn't want to continue her relationship with him; Dylan goes anyway. The complex quagmire of betrayal and deception in which Dylan finds himself is reminiscent of the hard-boiled crime stories penned by Jim Thompson. Lisa is unmistakable as a femme fatale, sharing elements with some of the genre's finest, from Jane Greer in Out of the Past to Kathleen Turner in Body Heat; her scheme to profit at the expense of her husband by means of a naive lover is right out of Double Indemnity. (A scene where Lisa coyly offers come hither glances at Dylan through the glass door of her porch is a clear nod to a similar, iconic scene from Body Heat.) Because Dylan consciously leaves his conscience (Clyde) at home when he goes out to the bar--a quality not exclusive to cyborgs--he lacks the good sense to recognize Lisa for the schemer that she is, letting a somewhat different part of his anatomy do the thinking for him. It doesn't take long for Lisa to wrap Dylan around her finger; even though he is skeptical of the job she offers him, it is his misguided chivalry that really strokes his ego, not to mention his broken heart. Although Dylan wisely brings Clyde with him when he first confronts Sterling, it is only done in the interest of ensuring that he has every edge against a man whom he has already concluded is guilty in his mind of some atrocity following Lisa's insinuations--not withstanding that she might be right about him being dangerous. Dylan and Sterling's initial encounter is tense and threatens to boil over into conflict. Simon Templeman's growling voice adds a layer of gravitas to the complicated grassroots industrialist with a muddied past, and his verbal repartee with Dylan (and Clyde) makes their encounter similar to one between Humphrey Bogart and Sydney Greenstreet in The Maltese Falcon. Black Road could be called a "cyberpunk" thriller, although it actively defies the tropes of the genre, principally in the setting and Clyde's role in the story. The presence of an invasive artificial intelligence like Clyde would usually suggest themes of the loss of Dylan's humanity; on the contrary, Clyde essentially completes Dylan, even if Dylan harbors resentment over this. Clyde is referred to as a "super"--a "superior" form of cognitive processing to supplement his brain, making him more human than human. Dylan--as it is with most of us--doesn't appreciate being micromanaged or constantly being told what not to do. Ironically, Clyde's interests in keeping Dylan safe and guiding him out of danger subconsciously provokes Dylan to conceal important details from his cybernetic "nanny" and live recklessly.
Recommended for: Fans of a detective story that combines elements of near-future dystopian sci-fi with hard-boiled crime drama. Black Road takes cues from cyberpunk stories like Blade Runner, raising questions about what it means to be human and peppers the film with some futuristic props and set pieces, such as Sarah's performances at the bar or Dylan's sports bike.
Dylan often ignores Clyde's counsel, convinced that he's doing the "right thing", even when it is evidently foolish or naive; and when Dylan doesn't want to listen to Clyde at all, he removes him from his skull and shoves him in a safe. Despite being motivated by seemingly noble intentions, his ignorance becomes his signature character flaw. Clyde warns Dylan not to go to Jefferson because it will be difficult for them to find "work" and because Sarah clearly doesn't want to continue her relationship with him; Dylan goes anyway. The complex quagmire of betrayal and deception in which Dylan finds himself is reminiscent of the hard-boiled crime stories penned by Jim Thompson. Lisa is unmistakable as a femme fatale, sharing elements with some of the genre's finest, from Jane Greer in Out of the Past to Kathleen Turner in Body Heat; her scheme to profit at the expense of her husband by means of a naive lover is right out of Double Indemnity. (A scene where Lisa coyly offers come hither glances at Dylan through the glass door of her porch is a clear nod to a similar, iconic scene from Body Heat.) Because Dylan consciously leaves his conscience (Clyde) at home when he goes out to the bar--a quality not exclusive to cyborgs--he lacks the good sense to recognize Lisa for the schemer that she is, letting a somewhat different part of his anatomy do the thinking for him. It doesn't take long for Lisa to wrap Dylan around her finger; even though he is skeptical of the job she offers him, it is his misguided chivalry that really strokes his ego, not to mention his broken heart. Although Dylan wisely brings Clyde with him when he first confronts Sterling, it is only done in the interest of ensuring that he has every edge against a man whom he has already concluded is guilty in his mind of some atrocity following Lisa's insinuations--not withstanding that she might be right about him being dangerous. Dylan and Sterling's initial encounter is tense and threatens to boil over into conflict. Simon Templeman's growling voice adds a layer of gravitas to the complicated grassroots industrialist with a muddied past, and his verbal repartee with Dylan (and Clyde) makes their encounter similar to one between Humphrey Bogart and Sydney Greenstreet in The Maltese Falcon. Black Road could be called a "cyberpunk" thriller, although it actively defies the tropes of the genre, principally in the setting and Clyde's role in the story. The presence of an invasive artificial intelligence like Clyde would usually suggest themes of the loss of Dylan's humanity; on the contrary, Clyde essentially completes Dylan, even if Dylan harbors resentment over this. Clyde is referred to as a "super"--a "superior" form of cognitive processing to supplement his brain, making him more human than human. Dylan--as it is with most of us--doesn't appreciate being micromanaged or constantly being told what not to do. Ironically, Clyde's interests in keeping Dylan safe and guiding him out of danger subconsciously provokes Dylan to conceal important details from his cybernetic "nanny" and live recklessly.
Recommended for: Fans of a detective story that combines elements of near-future dystopian sci-fi with hard-boiled crime drama. Black Road takes cues from cyberpunk stories like Blade Runner, raising questions about what it means to be human and peppers the film with some futuristic props and set pieces, such as Sarah's performances at the bar or Dylan's sports bike.