No Exit (2022) - SPOILER-FREE Review
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© 2022 20th Century Studios
Directed by: Damien Power
Written by: Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari
Starring: Havana Rose Liu, Danny Ramirez, David Rysdahl, Mila Harris, Dennis Haysbert, Dale Dickey
Runtime: 90 min
Synopsis: Darby (Havana Rose Liu), a young woman en route to a family emergency, is stranded by a blizzard and forced to find shelter at a highway rest area with a group of strangers. When she stumbles across an abducted girl in a van in the parking lot, it sets her on a terrifying life-or-death struggle to discover who among them is the kidnapper.
© 2022 20th Century Studios
These first two paragraphs may be devoid of logic and convey a sense of smugness and arrogance after the article is published if the main idea turns out to be wrong, so please bear with me. No Exit is a Hulu/Disney+ streaming flick that has received little to no promotional campaign, in addition to the review embargo date only lifting on opening day. Well, this usually happens when the studios and the respective producers don't hold much confidence in the work and believe that it won't be well-received by the press, which would negatively influence the general interest of viewers in giving the film a chance.
However, much to personal surprise, No Exit proves to be one of the best movies of the year to date. Even putting my opinion aside and focusing on essential aspects that the audience usually loves, it's hard to find ingredients that the typical moviegoer doesn't enjoy tremendously. Therefore, the question arises: who was responsible for marketing? And how are they unable to find the undeniable potential that the film contains to conquer numerous viewers? Well, this is all based, of course, on a personal prediction that the public will actually react positively. But let's discuss the movie itself...
© 2022 20th Century Studios
Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari (Ant-Man and the Wasp) build a straightforward premise, but one which entails a lot of tension, suspense, twists, and moments of high entertainment, all inserted in a single location. In addition to these components, there's also a somewhat shocking layer of violence that will appeal to the most avid fans of visually impactful thrillers. More: with a total runtime of approximately ninety minutes, the first act moves quickly, efficiently introducing the protagonist, Darby - played by Havana Rose Liu (The Sky is Everywhere) in her debut as a leading actress in a feature film.
This way, viewers won't have to wait long until a minor weather adversity starts to escalate exponentially into an adrenaline-fueled situation that will leave everyone wondering what they would do if they found themselves in a similar position. No Exit breaks a common stereotype in these types of stories related to the intelligence - or lack thereof - of the characters. There are always completely implausible narrative decisions caused by absolutely idiotic characters, which ultimately leaves the audience fairly frustrated with the events instead of being at the edge of their seats due to the plot itself.
For example, early in the movie, Darby receives a message on her phone while driving through a blizzard. In most of these films, the character would try to pick up her phone to answer and have an accident in some ridiculous way. In No Exit, Darby proves to be a capable, independent, and quite a clever girl, despite being initially in a rehab center due to her drug use. Not only does she park her car on the side of the road to check her messages, but she also decides to wait for the storm to calm down before continuing on her journey. Unfortunately, she is faced with the (in)tense situation of discovering a child kidnapped in a van, having to decipher which of the other four adults abducted the girl.
© 2022 20th Century Studios
Damien Power (Killing Ground) offers a clear, firm vision of his intention to create suspense and the atmosphere necessary for a constantly captivating movie. A few choices may even be too violent for more sensitive viewers, but the vast majority serve the plot beautifully. While some early revelations are expected, No Exit takes an unpredictable path after a certain point, offering an experience filled with surprises and twists every five minutes. Technically, Simon Raby's (Mortal Engines) cinematography, together with Marco Beltrami (Chaos Walking) and Miles Hankins' (Long Shot) score, create genuinely stunning sequences involving the audience in a highly immersive environment.
All the cast members deliver excellent performances, but Liu is insanely extraordinary. With impressive emotional range and expressiveness, the actress achieves a dream debut that's sure to catch the attention of many filmmakers in Hollywood. Remember her name because it will just be a matter of time before Liu starts to appear in big-budget projects. She embodies Darby perfectly, a compelling protagonist with a complicated past and an even more intricate present. All characters receive efficient, intriguing characterization, but this point leads me to the only problem of No Exit.
Whether it's personality traits, health issues, or even a previous job, some elements of character development either don't seem to have a relevant impact throughout the film, or they end up forgotten in the end. Usually, these details serve as foreshadowing for subsequent scenes of greater tension, but No Exit ultimately ignores them. Related to this topic, drug addiction is accidentally portrayed as a positive thing. Despite being obviously inserted in a specific context, it's still a strange way of tackling this sensitive topic.
© 2022 20th Century Studios
Final Thoughts
No Exit is one of the biggest surprises of the year, shocking viewers with an extremely (in)tense narrative full of suspense, twists, and high levels of entertainment. Damien Power takes the simple premise of his screenwriters and builds an immersive atmosphere through single-location filmmaking, where the camera work and the score are technical highlights in a visually fascinating work. Havana Rose Liu contributes tremendously with a superb lead debut as the smart and courageous protagonist. Apart from some characterization details that become irrelevant or accidentally depicted in a strangely positive manner, it's hard to imagine the general public not enjoying such an unpredictable, constantly captivating story. At the time of this review, it's one of the best films of the year.
