Writer and Director: Joel Veach
The quality of the films at this year’s Raindance is unusually high, and Joel Veach’s black comedy is no exception. Charting two days in the life of car mechanic Ray, American Muscle expertly balances the absurd with an engaging pull of melancholy. When two men in brown suits come to his garage to call in a debt on the outskirts of a small American town, Ray finds himself in a race against time.
The suits of the debt collectors aren’t the only things that are brown in Ray’s workshop: a brown suitcase has been left by the door. Once his abusive father is dead, Ray plans to leave town. It won’t be too long. His father is dying in the garage’s back room. He can no longer talk, but rings a bell when he’s thirsty.
But Ray’s escape plans are ruined when a pair of Tarantino-like villains, going by the names One and Two, arrive to claim $100,000 on behalf of their client. At first, One and Two seem like derivative hired assassins, their banter about diamonds and coyotes offbeat in a very familiar way. And yet, their endlessly mannered behaviour and their quirky conversations lend them menace and charm in equal measures. Brendan Sexton III and Gbenga Akinnagbe give surprisingly restrained performances of such oddballs.
David Thompson is the hangdog Ray, obediently placing his arm in a vice when commanded and only showing some mettle when his sister Maggie (a brilliant turn by Liana Wright-Mark) is in danger. The dialogue between the siblings, chatting about the old days as the sun goes down, is just as funny as that between the debt collectors. Veach’s script is fresh and real.
Lost’s Jorge Garcia shows up briefly in a scene-stealing cameo as Doug the drug dealer, while Lauren Glazier brings intrigue to her role as a fortune teller, believing the cards are already decked. However, as Ray continues on his quest to find the money, the cards may be wrong after all. Veach leaves his surprises until the end, and they work a treat.
Running at only 80 minutes, American Muscle doesn’t waste a word of dialogue, perhaps helped by the fact that Veach first started writing it as a play. He also cites the Coen brothers as one of his main influences, but there’s more heart here than, say, Blood Simple or No Country for Old Men. Shot in just 12 days, Veach’s debut is impressive.
American Muscle is screeing at the Raindance Film Festival 2026 from 17-26 June.
