“The life of a repo man is always intense,” says Bud (Harry Dean Stanton) as he welcomes Otto Maddox (Emilio Estevez) into the trade. Like most of the slightly ridiculous, hilarious lines in the movie, Bud means this seriously. The life of a repo man is not a joke. Nor is the ‘64 Chevy Malibu with a dangerous trunk and an immense bounty, the work of the United Fruitcake Outlet, or the warnings of Bud himself. Repo Man is an otherworldly blend of science-fiction thriller and black comedy, but that doesn’t begin to describe it. It’s a punk-rock conspiracy fantasy. It taps into a frequency we can barely understand.
In Alex Cox’s fantastical world, the work of a repo man goes far beyond any preconceived notions of the job, or really, of what we understand about cars and driving. Otto was an out-of-work punk rocker lackadaisically wandering the streets of LA until Bud found him and offered him a job. He discovers that cars and the act of repossessing them seems to be the only thing breathing life into the dry desert heat. California, here, is a wasteland. He meets UFO-believer Leila (Olivia Barash) in search of a ‘64 Chevy Malibu with dangerous powers beyond our earthly comprehension, and suddenly Bud’s words are no hyperbole. The life of a repo man embroils Otto into a mystery far more thrilling that mere repossession.
Repo Man is so singular, both aesthetically and thematically. It exists outside of logic, brand names, conventions of reality that are drab and stale. Beyond the film’s outlandish premise and set pieces and brilliant genre-blend, it is a crowd-pleaser in the truest sense of the word. It is hilarious and phenomenally acted. The cast, the set design, and the special effects culminate in a film that is so committed to its weirdness that our stale understandings of reality, metaphysics, and brand names become unfathomable. Repo Man is teenage angst, American conspiracy, Californian heat and dread. It’s the nexus of crime and youth and extraterrestrials and cars; again, it transcends genre. It transcends reality. It’s science-fiction parody, and it’s a warning – if you don’t know where your car is, maybe you should.
Repo Man
1984
dir. Alex Cox
92 min.
Screening on 35mm Monday, 7/13 through Wednesday, 7/15 @ Brattle Theatre – Click here for showtimes and ticket info
Part of the repertory series: The Stanton Rule: A Harry Dean Stanton Centennial
