Imagine if Gus Van Sant’s Good Will Hunting were a thriller. Instead of a licensed therapist, we have a mass murderer take his place. His credentials? Superficial charm and rampant nihilism. What about an office? Prepare to enjoy the open road in a 1974 Chrysler Newport Sedan albeit held at gunpoint. Our unsuspecting patient isn’t a mathematical genius from Boston but a traumatised young man in rural Louisiana who is afraid to take charge of his life. Mix this all together, and you get Carter Smith’s (The Ruins ) psychological thriller, The Passenger, written by Jack Stanley, with Johnny Berchtold and Kyle Gallner in the leading roles.
What is The Passenger about?
The Passenger centres on Randolph ‘Randy’ Bradley (Johnny Berchtold, Reacher), a young fast food worker who, unbeknownst to him, is about to have the worst day of his life. The film invites us into his psyche using a nightmare. We hear the wailing first and then rapid breathing.
We see a child, maturely dressed in a thick beige cardigan and suffocating white turtleneck giving him the semblance of an altar boy. His eyes are glued on his teacher, Ms Beard (Liza Weil, HTGAWM) as she clutches her face, screaming, blood gushing through her fingers. The scene is graphic with young Randy’s (Carson Minniear) face filling the frame. He does not scream and he does not run. He is paralysed with fear.
Randy wakes up from this nightmare (or so he thinks) at the crack of dawn to go to work. As Randy, Berchtold uses his body to convey that his character has been plagued by these nightmares before. He rolls out of bed, seemingly unperturbed. Yet, his movements reveal his inner feelings as they are sluggish and he sighs deeply. Without words, Berchtold lets his body shine a light on Randy’s sense of resignation. This is a young man haunted by his past but lacking the fight within him to do anything about it.
Enter Benson (Kyle Gallner, Smile); Randy’s co-worker at the imaginatively named Burgers, Burgers, Burgers fast food joint. Today, Benson is on janitorial duties and keeps to himself. He remains a consistent presence in the background. The opposite of Randy’s blonde, clean-shaven boyish looks, Benson has a slicked-back mullet, a twirlable moustache and a steely gaze that threatens to betray his secrets if we dare to look closely enough. He does not say much but he is always watching.
Submission vs Domination
Berchtold gives a convincing and committed performance as the submissive and anxious Randy. His body is tense, his shoulders raised, his eyes always searching for a door to escape. Randy tends to avoid confrontation when during an impromptu conversation with his manager, Hardy (Billy Slaughter), it’s noted he has allowed his co-workers to call him the wrong name for a whole year. Hardy questions him about his goals and his work ethic, remarking that Randy doesn’t fit in – an observation that Benson will echo. Randy is flustered, unable to express how he feels as the temptation is to fawn and give a socially acceptable response. But the truth is he really doesn’t know. Randy’s paralysis has rendered him an immovable object but Benson is the unstoppable force determined to move him. He just needs a trigger.
And that trigger comes thick and fast when Randy fails to stand up to his bullying colleague who forces him to eat a day-old cheeseburger. This abuse of power proves too much for Benson, and he silently leaves the restaurant, determined to exact retribution.
What follows is a buddy road movie from hell with Kyle Gallner’s Benson fiercely determined to get Randy to face his past by any means necessary. The strength of The Passenger lies in its script and stunning performances. Gallner dazzles as Benson, successfully flitting between a menacing kidnapper and a nihilistic friend. Being in his company we feel a maelstrom of emotions. Benson’s unpredictability is terrifying, but there are sporadic tender moments between him and Randy that disarm us, and they reveal Benson’s character to be more complex than suggested and his motives conflicting. As Benson, Gallner brings a stunning vulnerability, particularly in the film’s climax (beautifully shot in purple neon by cinematographer Lyn Moncrief), where he breaks your heart into a million pieces with the single ‘’hm’’ that escapes his throat. Smith’s direction is a real triumph as he allows his actors time to pause; he focuses on their faces, forcing us to feel the depths of their despair.
A stellar script
Stanley’s script is strong and shows immense restraint in its subtleties. Where other screenwriters would have felt tempted or compelled to spoon-feed Benson’s motivations or explain his trauma in an expository way, Stanley avoids this and it serves the film tremendously. In real life, we rarely get the psychological histories of those we encounter. Rather the clues lie in environment and behaviour. They’re in Benson’s home, his intense rage, his stuffed animal, what he says and what he does not say. While holding Randy at gunpoint, the seductive language he uses: ‘’Are you gonna be a good boy for me, Randy?’’. Only through subjugation is Benson able to connect with Randy to feel safe and in control.
A dazzling performance
My favourite thing about Gallner’s performance is the micro and macro expressions he has as Benson. After another violent outburst, he seeks refuge in Ms Beard’s bathroom. It’s the way his face scrunches up in pure anguish when an unpleasant emotion or memory threatens to come to the surface. How he emotionally resets and pushes down those unwelcome feelings by cracking his neck. The irony lies in the fact that Benson is forcing Randy to confront his past where he is incapable of doing the same for himself. Trauma lives in the body and one thing it does is inform our worldview and hinder our attempts at connection. The conversations Randy and Benson have in the car are clear illustrations of this.
But the character who has conquered their trauma is Ms Beard (sensitively played by Liza Weil) and she is the heart of The Passenger. She represents hope and the power of being seen. In her presence, we’re allowed to breathe for the very first time. She provides emotional safety and insight, something Randy desperately needs. It’s through her character that the film drives home the message that healing cannot be done in isolation and it requires patience and grace.
Referential costume design
I have to give major kudos to Hufkie’s costume design, as I am obsessed with the bunny t-shirt and custom-dyed fluffy cardigan that Benson wears in the film. The bunny is skeletal and reminded me of Frank in Donnie Darko. Frank is Donnie’s imaginary philosophical advisor and Benson plays the same role here. But his clothing betrays his stunted emotional growth and fragility, which, juxtaposed with his violence, create a fragmented and conflicted character deliciously.
Christopher Bear gives The Passenger a haunting sense of impending doom with his violins and strings. Eric Nagy’s effective sound design and tight editing render the film a taut 98 minutes. Under Smith’s confident direction, the film hurtles forward as we reach our simultaneously tragic and hopeful conclusion.
The Passenger has a lot to say. Its sharp script and impressive performances will play on your mind for days. Trauma is a beast and through Randy, Benson and Ms Beard’s characterisations, The Passenger, identifies that the only way out is through. Submission and repression will only work for so long, but with community and self-compassion, a hopeful future is possible.
The Passenger is available to rent digitally on Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Google Play. I am running a one-woman campaign for a Blu-ray release. C’mon Amazon, physical media is not dead!
If you’d like to read more, check out my post on five independent horror films guaranteed to scare
