Doc (Frank Grillo), a former special forces officer, has a tough face. He seems to have seen too much pain and violence in his life. He has a lot of control over his reactions, his body. Consider the scene where Doc discovers two dead bodies. He cautiously, apprehensively takes a peek into the bedroom and realizes his worst fears have proven to be right. Now, notice how he handles the situation. With an almost calm, professional demeanor, he checks the body's pulse and proceeds to do what he must. The movie, too, is as subdued as this character. It doesn't show us those bloody corpses for shock value. Rather, it sees the event with an air of inevitability. No one could have prevented the murder of those two characters.
Cuco (Beau Knapp) is the man responsible for the execution. He has a cold face along with a confident walk as if he's sure no one can do him any harm. Cuco has lost his soul, and he kills people with self-possession. A man screams and begs for his life in his car while Cuco coolly walks away from his victim. Only during the latter portions - set at a motel - do we see cracks in his sturdy facade, especially when he talks about his past in front of Doc's daughter, Nell (Sofia Bryant). For a moment, Cuco's countenance melts to give rise to warmth. But the devil inside him soon returns, leading him to kill three people in cold blood.
Since Cuco has Nell, he makes a deal with Doc. The ex-officer has to deliver Governor Richard Jeffs (Eric Dane) head in exchange for his daughter. Yes, writer-director John Swab's Little Dixie is a Taken-esque rescue mission, but the violence here feels inescapable and unpredictable. The characters pull the trigger when you least expect them to do so. When Doc starts talking to Jeffs while pointing his gun towards him, you think someone would sneak up on Doc, hit him on the head, and give the governor the opportunity to run. Little Dixie, though, doesn't have room for such clichés. Make the mistake of coming in Doc's or Cuco's range, and there is almost a hundred percent chance you will meet your maker.
Little Dixie borrows its parts from other similar action films, though it recycles them with a sense of consciousness. You feel as if the movie, like Doc, has been through these circumstances many times before, which is why it moves seamlessly without sweat. The precision with which Doc eliminates his targets tells you everything about the things he must have done as a special forces officer. It's evident he has not found himself in any new situation, and the movie, too, knows that it's not showing you anything that you might not have seen before. Yet, both the film and Doc function smoothly, effectively. Nobody is just going through the motions. Little Dixie doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it spins it satisfyingly. It's very enjoyable.
Final Score- [7.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
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Publisher at Midgard Times