Triple 9 – movie review

Urgent help needed – officer down. That’s the meaning behind the title of Triple 9, a gritty crime thriller directed by Australian John Hillcoat (The Road).

Set in Atlanta, Georgia the film concerns a cadre of criminals conspiring with crooked cops (as portrayed by the likes of Chiwetel Ejiofor and Anthony Mackie) to rob a bank and secure the contents of a safety deposit box. These are intended to secure freedom for a Russian mob boss currently held in captivity. In his absence the organisation is controlled by his ruthless wife, Irina (a Russian-Israeli played, complete with accent, by Kate Winslet, in a decidedly unusual role for her). Michael Atwood (Ejiofor), who used to be with Irina’s sister Elena (Gal Gadot) and with whom he has a young son, was a former member of the Special Forces and is supposedly the brains behind the heist. But his strings are being well and truly pulled by Irina, who – even after the event hits an almighty snag – strong-arms Michael into conducting one more, seemingly impossible, robbery. Leading the hunt to get to the bottom of all that is going down is disheveled detective Jeff Allen (Woody Harrelson), whose nephew Chris (Casey Affleck) is also trying to make his mark.  The feeling from the outset is that this is bound to end badly.

Writer Matt Cook got the inspiration for his first feature while swapping stories with a mate during a road trip. While Cook used to be in the army and relayed some war stories, his buddy – an undercover narcotics agent – starting telling Cook about a “999” call he attended. His friend said if a cop gets wounded in a gun battle, police everywhere stop what they’re doing, converge on the downed officer and basically keep going until they catch the perpetrator. When Cook asked his mate what then happened to the rest of the city, the response was “well, it’s basically un-policed”. Realising the concept was rife with dramatic possibilities, Cook started outlining his script.

Triple 9 is dour, grimy filmmaking, with a strong and raw soundtrack. I felt decidedly dirty having watched it because all the main players appear compromised. The storyline is quite convoluted and therefore not all that easy to readily follow, save for the bottom line about which I have already had my say. This is no Heat (the 1995 action crime drama from Michael Mann, which starred Al Pacino and Robert De Niro), although many of the usual cop movie tropes are apparent.

The film, which has a decidedly male audience skew, will have only limited appeal as it is hardly traditional mainstream fare. I expected and wanted more. The Russian-Israeli mob link showed promise but was not developed at all. And there was no back-story regarding the fallout between the key character, Atwood, and the mother of his child. Suffice to say the impression gained is that Atwood’s son was being used as a pawn to force him to comply with any and all of Irina’s demands.

Probably best to give this one a miss. Rated MA, Triple 9 scores a 5 ½ to 6 out of 10.

Director: John Hillcoat
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Norman Reedus, Kate Winslet, Teresa Palmer
Release Date: 3 March 2016
Rating: MA 15+ – Strong violence and coarse language

Alex First