Arkansas (2020)

Arkansas is the kind of sly, sunbaked neo-noir that sneaks up on you: it plays like a backroads crime fable where the danger feels casual until it suddenly doesn’t. Clark Duke directs with a confident, unshowy touch, letting the Southern setting do half the storytelling while the movie’s odd little pockets of humor and humanity keep the tension from turning monotonous. Liam Hemsworth brings a wary edge, Duke makes a surprisingly affecting partner-in-crime, and Vince Vaughn is deliciously unsettling as the off-kilter figure at the center of it all. It’s not for viewers who want a clean, heroic thriller—this one gets grim and violent—but if you like character-driven crime stories with atmosphere, charm, and a mean streak, it’s an easy recommendation.

Arkansas is clearly aiming for a grimy, Coen-adjacent crime yarn about low-level dealers stumbling into a mess far bigger than they understand, with a side of Southern-gothic oddness. The problem is it often feels like it’s borrowing the vibe of better crime thrillers without landing on a sharp identity of its own, and the story’s stop-start structure can drain tension just when it should be tightening the screws. Even with a solid cast (Vince Vaughn in particular brings a welcome off-kilter presence), the pacing is uneven and some characters feel more like pieces on a board than people you’re meant to care about. If you want a lean, propulsive thriller, this may test your patience; if you’re fine with a meandering, slightly quirky crime tale that’s more mood than momentum, it can still be a decent late-night watch.