Time: 91 Minutes
Cast:
Bob Odenkirk as Sheriff Ulysses
Henry Winkler as Mayor Kibner
Lena Headey as Moira
Director: Ben Wheatley

I was interested in Normal, with it being another action movie starring Bob Odenkirk after seeing his two Nobody movies. Additionally, it is directed by Ben Wheatley who previously made movies like Free Fire which I enjoyed. I was expecting another movie like Nobody (just set in Minnesota), but it was very much a different kind of film and was enjoyable for what it was.

The first act starts off slow as it introduces Bob Odenkirk’s character and the town that he’s working as a temporary sheriff for. I get that it’s meant to be a steady and seemingly innocent beginning before the carnage comes into play, but it’s very easy to tell early on where the movie is going. First of all, the town which is literally called Normal is made to seem ‘normal’ to such a degree that you can tell that there’s other things happening behind the scenes. Not only that, but the prologue preceding it signalled aspects of the reveal, and probably should’ve been omitted from the film. There’s also an element of drama regarding Odenkirk’s backstory which we learn about, and I’m not sure it works for this movie. However, when Normal enters its second act and takes a turn going further into the action, violence and absurdity, that’s where it really picks up. It is very funny, definitely starting off with a satirical approach with the quirky town, but particularly excels at the dark comedy after the first third of the movie.

Bob Odenkirk is great in the lead role playing the calm and likable small town sheriff, while also being believable and effective during the action and stunts. The rest of the cast are good too, though I wished Lena Headey and Henry Winkler had more to do.

Ben Wheatley’s direction is very solid, and his style added a lot to the movie. I liked the snowy small town setting, especially how it’s offset by the bloody and destructive action later on. Speaking of which, the action is well choreographed and enjoyable to watch, and the comedy with the startling violence was very effective and even funny at times. 

Normal is predictable, but nonetheless very enjoyable, absurd, funny, with solid direction, entertaining action, and a good cast.