Officer Jim Arnaud is having the worst time of his life suffering a personal meltdown whilst going though a divorce and the death of his mother.
Thunder Road is a very tough to watch film at times, especially the opening scene. Jim speaking at his mothers funeral and basically we are watching him have a complete breakdown. It is horrible to watch as it totally feels real as he cannot control his actions and when talking about his love for his mother and then attempted a small dance like tribute you just want to look away. The thing is though that this must be how some people react to death, the loss of a loved one.
Something that really made me want to watch this film though was it being called Thunder Road and Bruce Springsteen link, but they don’t even play the song in the film which was slightly disappointing. After the funeral Jim is struggling with his job as a police officer and makes bad decisions related to work. He is attempting to have a good relationship with his daughter as the divorce has gone on she spends time with each of her parents over the course of a week. This affects her a lot more than he realises and she is not doing very well at school.
A film that really takes on mental health and showing that you cannot always control how you react to grief. Although Jim does not really have many friends but his work partner Nate tries to look out for him the best he can. Jim does not really get on very well with the rest of the police force due to his lack of social skills. The film takes plenty of tough turns but manages to be entertaining enough to watch and a little thought provoking as well.
By no means the best but not made for an independent film which tackles some tough issues. Jim Cummings not only taking the leading role but also directed and wrote the screenplay as well. Something that came from a short film before this one.
