''Warning Shot'' is a 2018 American drama thriller directed by Dustin Fairbanks and written by Breanne Mattson. The film tells the story of a single mother (
Tammy Blanchard
Tammy Blanchard (born December 14, 1976) is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her role as teenage Judy Garland in the critically acclaimed television film '' Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows'' (2001), for which she received ...
) and her young daughter (
Onata Aprile) held hostage at an isolated farmhouse by two men (
Guillermo Díaz and
Dwight Henry) sent by the grandson (
David Spade
David Wayne Spade (born July 22, 1964) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, television host, and writer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' in the 1990s, and he later began an acting career in both film and television. He also s ...
) of an old family business rival to coerce them into giving up valuable water rights.
The film premiered at the Writers Guild Theater in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
on September 6, 2018, and was released both theatrically and on VOD on September 14, 2018.
Plot
Single mother Audrey (Tammy Blanchard) and her young daughter Cheyenne (Onata Aprile) attend the funeral of Audrey's grandfather. Struggling to make ends meet as a waitress, Audrey considers moving into her grandfather's old farmhouse if it is left to her in his will.
Meanwhile, Bobby (David Spade), the principal of a powerful water company, unaware Audrey's grandfather has died, hires Rainy (Guillermo Díaz) and Jawari (Dwight Henry) to intimidate him into signing over the valuable water rights to a large creek on his property.
Bobby tries to assure his grandfather Calvin (
Bruce Dern
Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor. He has often played supporting villainous characters of unstable natures. He has received several accolades, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Silver ...
) that he is capable of running the family business, but Calvin degrades him. Sickly and nearing the end of his life, Calvin has lost interest in business affairs, instead spending his remaining moments reminiscing about his past struggles and pondering regrets.
At the farmhouse, Rainy and Jawari confront Audrey and Cheyenne, who are merely visiting in anticipation of possible future ownership. Unsure what to do, Rainy and Jawari decide to hold them hostage until Bobby arrives with legal documents to transfer ownership of the water rights.
While Jawari is an amiable local drug dealer, Rainy exhibits sadistic tendencies, incessantly provoking reactions from Audrey, Cheyenne, and even Jawari. At first Audrey goes along, hoping she and Cheyenne will eventually be set free. It soon becomes clear, however, that Rainy intends to escalate the situation. He forces Audrey to choose between herself and Cheyenne, but Audrey's protective instincts cause her to quickly offer herself in Cheyenne's place, a characteristic that increasingly aggravates Rainy.
Audrey gets a brief reprieve when a door to door proselytizer named David (
Frank Whaley) arrives and draws Rainy's fixation. Now with three hostages and the situation destabilizing, Audrey tries to delay in any way she can, whether by appealing to Jawari or divulging intimate details of her life to Rainy.
Rainy continues to single out individuals and provoke them, eventually murdering Jawari to prevent his interference. With Audrey too quick to sacrifice herself for Cheyenne, Rainy attempts to force David to make a life or death decision, convinced his religious convictions are false and he would never sacrifice himself for strangers. Rainy is frustrated in this endeavor as well when David, moved by Audrey's selflessness, finds the inner strength to choose himself to be shot instead of Audrey or Cheyenne.
When Cheyenne grabs Jawari's gun, Audrey is left with no alternative but to attack Rainy. In the ensuing struggle, David gets Jawari's gun. By the time Bobby arrives the entire situation is completely out of control. He attempts to resolve the circumstances only to have Audrey, perhaps pushed beyond her coping ability, violently retaliate.
At the reading of the will, Audrey learns her grandfather's water rights have already gone into forfeiture, thus negating the entire purpose for the extortion plot and rendering all the violence following from it unnecessary. The film ends with a stunned Audrey lamenting, “All they had to do was ask.”
Cast
*
Tammy Blanchard
Tammy Blanchard (born December 14, 1976) is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her role as teenage Judy Garland in the critically acclaimed television film '' Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows'' (2001), for which she received ...
as Audrey
*
Guillermo Díaz as Rainy
*
David Spade
David Wayne Spade (born July 22, 1964) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, television host, and writer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' in the 1990s, and he later began an acting career in both film and television. He also s ...
as Bobby
*
Frank Whaley as David
*
Dwight Henry as Jawari
*
Onata Aprile as Cheyenne
*
Bruce Dern
Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor. He has often played supporting villainous characters of unstable natures. He has received several accolades, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Silver ...
as Calvin
*
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
as Mr. Pendleton
*
Steve Eastin
Steve Eastin (born June 22, 1948) is an American character actor. He has appeared in nearly 150 television and film roles throughout his decades long career.
Early life and education
Eastin was born in Colorado, where he began to study acting a ...
as Marty
* Niki Koss as Notta Chance
Production
The film was shot primarily in and around
Corsicana
Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 56 miles northeast of Waco, Texas. The population was 23,770 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Navarro County, and an important Agri-busin ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, in May and June 2016 with some scenes shot in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
and
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. The film was produced by
Spero Dean Stamboulis and
Aimee Ng
Aimee Ng is a specialist in Italian Renaissance art, curator at The Frick Collection, writer and podcaster.
Career
Ng is a curator at The Frick Collection specializing in Italian Renaissance art. She graduated from the Queen's University at K ...
.
The film's executive producers were Aimee Ng, Andrew K. Lo, and Geronimo Frias.
Release
The film was released both theatrically and on VOD on September 14, 2018.
References
External links
*
*
*
* {{Facebook, Warningshotmovie, Warning Shot
2018 films
American thriller drama films
Films set on farms
Films shot in Texas
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
2018 directorial debut films