ONE OF THESE DAYS REVIEW - SDIFF 2020

Centered in a small town in Texas, Bastian Gunther’s One Of These Days tells the true story of an annual endurance contest where the prize will be the possession of a pickup truck. The obstacle to the game a foot is that no contestant is allowed to remove their hands from the vehicle or they will be disqualified and the contest goes on through a period of two to three days and leads to interesting turns to say the least.

As similar to most of the screenings at the San Diego International Film Festival this year, I went into One Of These Days completely blind and not knowing of both the story or the genre that it was going to be.

Firstly, the two centers and perspectives of the film, Joe Cole and Carrie Preston, are solid. While at first glance it may seem that these characters are complete polar opposites of each other, they are actually quite similar in how they feel eternally. The only difference is how they present or deal with these sides of themselves externally and I found that distinction very telling and central to the plot.

I found Gunther’s work as a director to be the key that makes this film more engaging and investing because this has all the trappings to become a very boring story that can be very hard to care or follow. And I will say that at times it does become tiresome and long-winded and that’s the issue it does have at some points. However, what Gunther manages to do is to entice you in the ensemble of the contestants and allow the viewer to feel and see the reasoning as to why each contestant wants to win this truck; particularly through the eyes of Joe Cole’s character.

I also found the tonal shift to be very strong and very responsive. It starts out as an almost melodramatic and light-hearted approach to the story as I feel that that is the reality of the given situation because the concept of putting your hand on a truck for a few days to then win said truck is just nonsense and Gunther recognizes and acknowledges this at the start. Once we get into the meat of the contest and see the effects it has on these contestants, it quickly becomes something quite riveting and borderline horrifying as how something so silly and obnoxious can have such a grueling effect on the contestants on a psychological level. There’s one moment in the film that just was frightening to watch and yet understandable and that’s the mark of great direction when you’re able to understand the tragedy but still be shocked by it all at the same time.

In the end, you’re left with something that completely earns and satisfies and delivers a fully realized story that has more on its mind than it appears to be and is showcased greatly through two compelling performances and helmed by someone who clearly understands the ins and outs on how to represent tragic situations and how it feels from both the inside and the outside of said event that takes place. It is the film that without its director wouldn’t have been able to work as well as it does. It’s funny, disturbing, shocking and more importantly real and true in what it’s showing. And all of this comes from the great writing and commitment to the craft that was from Bastian Gunther.

Grade: B+