Detour
Tags: murder

Plot synopsis:
Piano player Al Roberts (Tom Neal) is drinking coffee at a roadside diner in Reno, hitchhiking east from California, when a fellow patron plays a song on the jukebox that reminds him of his former life in New York City. At the time, Al was bitter about squandering his talent working in a cheap nightclub. After his girlfriend Sue Harvey (Claudia Drake), the nightclub vocalist, leaves to seek fame in Hollywood, he decides to go to California and marry her. With little money, he is forced to hitchhike his way across the country.
In Arizona, bookie Charles Haskell, Jr. (Edmund MacDonald) gives Al a ride in his convertible and tells him that he's in luck: he's driving all the way from Florida to Los Angeles to place a bet on a horse. During the drive, he has Al pass him pills several times. That night, Al is driving while Haskell sleeps. When a rainstorm forces Al to pull over to put up the top, he is unable to rouse Haskell. Al opens the passenger-side door and Haskell falls out, striking his head on a rock. Al then realizes the bookie is dead. Fearful that the police will believe he killed Haskell, Al drags the body off the road, takes the dead man's money, clothes, and identification, and drives away.
After spending the night in a California motel, Al decides to drive to an urban area and ditch the car. At a gas station, he picks up another hitchhiker, Vera (Ann Savage). After some time, she suddenly asks him what he did with the real owner of the car. It turns out she had been picked up by Haskell in Louisiana; she scratched him and got out in Arizona after he tried to become too friendly. Al claims to be Haskell, but she calls his bluff and blackmails him by threatening to turn him in. She tells him that they should sell the car rather than abandon it.
In Hollywood, they rent an apartment, posing as Mr. and Mrs. Haskell to provide an address when they sell the car. However, Vera learns from a newspaper that Haskell's wealthy father is near death and looking for his son, who ran away as a youth after accidentally injuring his friend. Vera demands that Al impersonate Haskell as soon as the father dies, but Al balks at this notion, pointing out that he knows next to nothing about either man.
Back at the apartment, Vera gets drunk and they begin arguing. She threatens to call the police, running into the bedroom with the telephone and locking the door. She falls into a stupor on the bed with the telephone cord tangled around her neck. Al pulls on the cord in an effort to break it. When he finally breaks down the door, he sees that he has accidentally strangled her. He gives up ever seeing his girlfriend Sue again and returns to hitchhiking instead, imagining his probable future arrest by the police.

Review: A film that plays with time in a fun way, with great direction by Christoper Smith, fantastic cinematography by Christopher Ross, and really believable acting by Tye Sheridan and the rest of the cast.
But that didn't really hurt the film to much, it was a great ride with a story that was really interestingly told.
So if you want a really fun ride with great filmmaking then watch Detour!
From Christopher Smith, the director of "Triangle" a movie that I personally love and that was loved by many, I thought i'd give this movie a chance without knowing much about what I was going into.And it was definitely a surprise, knowing that actually the budget of this film isn't high at all and won't hit the box office, I lowered my expectations but then what I got from the film raised them up.The film is actually very entertaining and engaging, and there's a very cool plot twist almost in the middle of the movie, I felt like this movie interacts with the viewers in a really cool way.
What I liked the most about this film is that it feels unique, it shows you how simple decisions could change lives, and not to mention the cinematography was very beautiful.Without spoiling anything, I thought this movie was a very cool underrated thriller that deserves to be more known than this, so give it a try with an open mind..
Detour is a film about this teen who hires a criminal to murder his stepfather and we see the movie played out in two different ways:if he hired the criminal and if he didn't.
But things aren't always as they seem, you will see for yourself and if you did, you probably know what I'm talking about.It's interesting in the first act, then it slows down a bit in the second act and then turns the complete plot around in the third act.
This movie may be a bit too many plot twists to process at first, but once you really think about it, it all makes perfect sense.
The problem is, that slowing down in the second act makes you lose your interest a bit, but don't let that fool you.
didn't think this movie was going to be any good...boy was i strong.
tye sheridan...who by the way looks like a young tom hardy really shows his acting chops in this movie.
very character driven storyline with a few nice twists...no action...all the action is in the acting, thats what makes a good thriller.
do watch the movie if you get a chance..if you like thriller genre movies or just a good movie in general..
He impressed me so much with his acting in 'Mud', that I knew he is going to turn out to be a good actor.
I like actors who are versatile.I am going to keep an eye on these two.The way the movie is written, shot, and directed is brilliant.
I usually do not enjoy movies that go back and forth in time, but this is done well and for a purpose, which is revealing a twist every time, eventually putting together important pieces of the story.
This film tells the story of a young man whose mother is in a coma due to a traffic accident.
Furthermore, he thinks that the stepfather is cheating, and hence he decides to sell revenge."Detour" is refreshing because there story splits into two storage alternate universes, one being Harper doing the things he said he would, the other not doing it.
I think "Detour" is a good indie film and deserves a watch..
Much better than expected!I was really not expecting much with no name actors (I didn't recognize any one) and no name director and writer Christopher Smith, but I was very pleasantly surprised!All the actors were spot on, maybe a little overboard in some instances but it played well with the directing which was actually very impressive for a director and writer I never heard of!Yes there were a few plot holes but for a 'B' or less movie, everything else was exceptional!
Not a great movie that's gonna blow your mind or make you want to watch it over and over, rather, an enjoyable film worth actually watching.
There's a little twist that makes it interesting and holds your attention.
not the greatest Smith's movie but it it's not bad at all , the ending was really dramatic and sad for me , it's twisting end sort of movies ,it has lot of suspense and will keep you suspended until the last moments , i liked Tye Sheridan acting but not much love for Emory Cohen acting the movie teaches us a life lesson which is never jump to conclusion and don't make decisions and take actions based on presumptions rather than facts and understanding .
Ok, this is a rare review that I would normally give a film like this a bad review, I have to agree with others, it's well worth seeing.
British director Christopher Smith has had an interesting "all most" like career since his debut feature Creep garnered some attention way back in 2004.The hard working director has since churned out 5 feature films (and a mini-series) that include the likes of the underrated horror gem Black Death, the criminally misunderstood Triangle and horror comedy Severance but while there are these little gems or films that almost feel like jumping to the next level, Smith has never truly maximised his potential.Continuing on with this unfortunate trend, Smith's new thriller Detour is a film of what could've been, a sometimes enthralling road trip that often races along at a cracking pace, yet too often veers away in directions that either don't engage or don't make a lot of sense and it must be a film that is marked down as another film Smith could've done more with.Things start out in a promising fashion as Tye Sheridan's college student Harper meets Emory Cohen's unhinged Johnny Ray in a divey bar and the two strike up an uneasy alliance that will see Johnny kill Harper's dodgy step-dad on a road trip over to Las Vegas with Johnny's on/off girlfriend Cherry coming along for the ride (played impressively by rising star Bel Powley), but Smith's film can't maintain the pace or interest levels as the narrative changes its colours and what we initially have signed up ends up being a whole different beast entirely.The performers all have a decent crack at the material, the soon to be Ready Player One lead Sheridan is always a solid presence, Powley is just as good as she was in her breakout The Diary of Teenage Girl role and while Cohen is starting to become a little one note with his tough guy persona's, it's hard to argue against that he does this type of role well, even if Smith labours him with some expletive ridden and often mediocre dialogue.You can see where Smith wanted Detour to go and where it could've gone had the material struck the right chord but after 30 or so minutes with this car load of characters, you'd be wishing the film had a quick pit-stop so you can get off and hitch a ride back where you came from.Final Say – One of those road trips that's destination feels like it wasn't worth the effort, Detour has a hot start out of the blocks but quickly burns its fuel tickets and becomes a thriller that is not thrilling enough or original enough to make this a journey worth taking.2 intrusive gardeners out of 5.
Finely acted, nicely written little film.
Each actor shines in their role and I bet once you start watching you won't be able to stop.Part of the charm of this film is how the director unfolds the story with smart editing.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect going into 'Detour'.
I have enjoyed some of writer/director Christopher Smith's previous work, it always has an edge to it, something that makes it unique and different.
That is certainly apparent in 'Detour'.One thing that let the film down for me was Tye Sheridan in the lead role.
I understand his role wasn't supposed to be an overly likable or fun guy, but a good actor can still make themself watchable and entertaining while playing a role like that.
It's certainly nothing game-changing or mesmerising, but if you have a couple of hours to kill there are far worse ways you could do it than by watching 'Detour'..
'DETOUR': Four Stars (Out of Five)A British thriller about a young law student, who blames his stepfather for causing the car accident which put his mother into a coma.
It stars Tye Sheridan, Emory Cohen, Bel Powley and Stephen Moyer.
The film was written and directed by Christopher Smith (who's also helmed one other movie I've seen, 2010's 'BLACK DEATH').
I thought the film was pretty interesting, although dark, and involving too.One night at a bar, Harper (Sheridan), a young college law student, meets Johnny Ray (Cohen), a professional criminal.
Harper explains to Johnny how he blames his stepfather, Vincent (Moyer), for his mother being in a coma (and he especially blames him for never going to visit her).
The next day though, when Johnny shows up at Vincent's door, with his girlfriend Cherry (Powley), Harper begins to have serious doubts about going through with the plan.
The performances are pretty good in it too, especially Sheridan and Cohen.
It's a movie that I probably won't forget anytime soon, and I always have to give a film like that a decent amount of credit.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/KR0HDeT91m0.
Detour didn't seem to get much buzz or word of mouth as a limited release thriller drama, in which the film delivers and was more enjoyable and entertaining than expected.
The chemistry from the leads are what makes the film succeed and the overall suspense factor.
Not too predictable, and as a whole the film comes together with some clever twists at the end.
Perhaps the film could have been a little longer with more explanations at the end, but overall, Detour is a fun ride, highly recommend..
I was totally caught off guard by this movie, as I had heard nothing about it before, until I saw it today on HBO, and it turned out to be pretty d*mn good!Detour is a small road trip thriller about a teenage boy who suspects that his stepfather did something bad to his Mom, and as he tries to figure out what to do about it, he makes some stupid decisions which get him into trouble.
As the events of the film unfold we start to realize that the mess he made is even worse than we thought, and there are some crazy and unexpected twists and turns along the way.I missed the first 5 minutes of the movie, but it was easy to pick up, and due to the acting, the realistic dialogue, the tension and the amazing camera-work I was hooked from the moment I started watching to the very end.
The performances are top notch; both Tye Sheridan and Emory Cohen - who I had never heard about before - are fantastic, as well as the girl, Bel Powley.
There are several instances when the movie goes to unexpected places, and through the unfolding events more and more information gets revealed about the characters, which makes Detour an especially interesting and fun ride.
(I guess, at this point, Christopher Smith has got to be one of my favourite directors, as he also directed the 2009 movie "Triangle", which is a similarly unrecognized, underrated thriller, and is a personal favourite of mine.).
Sometimes the movies turn out to be bad, but there have been many times when I have stumbled upon a gem that deserves to be better known.
"Detour" is one of those latter movies.
I had no idea how the movie was going to end and what would happen to the characters.
But for the most part, the movie works, always being entertaining even during those aforementioned weak touches.
This isn't one of my favorite movies of all time, not by a long shot.
As others have noted: the scenery is wonderful and the cinematography, apart from one or two "shaky camera" scenes (I really loathe that form of filming), is mighty impressive.Perhaps due to the fact that I love to read----a lot---- and have seen a bazillion movies, I spotted the one major "plot twist" coming from a mile away.
That sort of spoiled the movie for me a little bit.
It's no big deal, but it's highly likely that you may con onto it, too.However, the superlative performance by Emory Cohen more than made up for any small disappointments.
I can't wait to see him in another film.Stephen Moyer could have had a few more minutes on the screen, I think.
He's always fun to watch, so smooth and makes it all look effortless and easy.All in all, if you don't have anything better going on, you could do much worse that to kick back and enjoy the ride.
Skilfully written, energetically performed and full of delicious twists, "Detour" (2016) is a highly enjoyable crime thriller that intrigues by using an interesting structural device, entertains by keeping its action well-paced and displays its writer's affection for film noir by referencing movies that were clearly some of his greatest influences.
The plot and its characters are consistent with those which were typically found in noir movies of the past and its fatalistic qualities are also consistent with the ethos of the style.Young, wealthy L.A. law student Harper (Tye Sheridan) is consumed with grief about his mother who's in a coma and fighting for her life and he's also full of anger and hatred for his stepfather, Vincent (Stephen Moyer) who he blames for his mother's predicament.
He thinks that his stepfather is uncaring because he's failed to regularly visit his wife in hospital and furthermore, suspects that Vincent is having an affair with a Las Vegas cocktail waitress called Rosy Hills.One night, after visiting his mother in hospital, Harper drowns his sorrows at a nearby bar where he overhears a guy called Johnny Ray (Emory Cohen) talking about a scam that he and his girlfriend Cherry (Bel Powley) had been involved in during which she had lured unsuspecting men to a hotel room so that he could steal their cash.
Harper tries to get out of going but Johnny isn't prepared to take no for an answer and it's at this point that the narrative splits into two parallel versions of what follows.In one plot-line, Harper accompanies Johnny and Cherry on a road trip to Vegas during which they get stopped by a state trooper who had seen them leave a diner without paying and visit a menacing drug dealer called Frank (John Lynch) who demands payment of an outstanding debt from the terrified Johnny.
In the second plot-line, Harper simply stays at home and resolves his problems with Vincent in a different way.
The way in which these two plot-lines eventually dovetail into each other is achieved by a neat time flip that enables the story to proceed to its surprising conclusion.One of the most interesting and enjoyable aspects of the movie is the way in which writer and director Christopher Smith openly acknowledges some of his influences.
Examples of this are the way in which the original agreement between Harper and Johnny reflects a similar arrangement in Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" (1951), a swimming pool scene at Harper's mansion which strongly evokes a memorable sequence in "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) and a situation involving the state trooper where, after Cherry turns the tables on him, anyone who's seen "Thelma & Louise" (1991) will immediately know where he's going to end up!
Harper's name is taken from Paul Newman's 1966 movie of the same name (as confirmed by a poster on Harper's bedroom wall) and Dr Ulmer, at the hospital, gets his name from Edgar G Ulmer's ultra-gritty 1945 movie also called "Detour".Smith cleverly uses an excerpt from Al Roberts' narration from the 1945 movie in two contemporaneous scenes which feature Harper during his road trip and sitting in his home watching the movie on TV and also shows considerable flair in the way in which he uses split-screens.
His characters are made real by great performances from Tye Sheridan as the intense main protagonist, Bel Powley as the damaged Cherry and Emory Cohen as Johnny Ray who, as well as being a volatile thug periodically makes philosophical statements by, for example, reportedly paraphrasing Confucius or remarking that "as you get older, you realize that life isn't about the choice you make, it's about the one you're given"."Detour" (2016) is so entertaining on so many levels that it's surprising that it hasn't been given the exposure it needs to achieve the commercial success that it deserves..
made me sit tight to watch this movie attentively.
This rhyme has an obvious connection to the story-line of this movie and the methods, by which the story was interestingly told, reminds me another masterpiece 'Pulp Fiction'.Great film making.
Manny's Movie Musings: "Detour" is an indie flick about a teen (played by Tye Sheridan) who enlists the help of a young gangster (Emory Cohen) to kill Sheridan's dad (Stephen Moyer).
The story's strengths are the talented, young cast (Sheridan and Cohen); and a manipulation of the timeline to produce a clever twist at the beginning of the third act plus a more shocking twist near the end.
"Detour" is weakened by the dialogue Cohen speaks, making the actor seem like a wannabe Tarantino character and the writer/director just a plain, wannabe Tarantino.
My most memorable, movie moment of "Detour" is the revelation of the twist ending that turned this somewhat entertaining movie from a suspense/thriller into a tragedy.Mannysmemorablemoviemoments