Hey friends. Barbarella here, and I cannot stop thinking about MILITIA, a film that recently released on VOD and DVD. Written and directed by Dylan King Welter, MILITIA takes viewers into the heartland to tell the story of a teenager on the verge of adulthood. He wants nothing more than to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the local militia.
In this rural world, family, faith, and firearms rule the day, and the law is seen as a nuisance, particularly when a new, somewhat idealistic sheriff enters the picture. His desire to take a different, more proactive approach from the previous sheriff leads to conflict between the authorities and the militia and its community.
While many aspects of this film deserve praise, one that has the biggest impact on me is how the story is just allowed to unfold. There is no clear perspective in the presentation of this, almost as though the writer didn’t have an opinion on militias or the government. Rather, the characters just move through their lives: a father teaches his son about hunting and guns, a mother reinforces the ideals of the militia as she homeschools her boy, and the kids play war games to prepare themselves for the possibility of fighting for their beliefs. It proves fascinating, watching the story illuminate how a young man and his friends internalize the messages they’ve been hearing their whole lives and how that dictates their decisions and ultimately their actions.
The movie never preaches, condemns, or flattens its characters into talking points. Instead, it merely shows decisions, actions, and consequences, and lets the viewer decipher meaning and morality. This approach proves not just effective, but also powerful, particularly as the tensions rise and the story moves into darker territory.
While the story and the way it’s told enthralls me, it’s not just the writing that deserves the credit. The acting is top notch and ensures that none of the nuance gets lost. While the entire cast proves skilled, the standouts for me are the three male leads. Michael Broderick as Daniel’s loving and instructive father just captivates, and I find myself hanging on every single word he utters. (I might even have learned a thing or two about weapons.) Luke Stratte-McClure as Sheriff Webb conveys both strength and vulnerability in the roll, and I can’t take my eyes off him whenever he’s on screen. The sheriff is a multilayered character, and I love the way the actor allows those layers to peek through just in the right ways. Even when he smiles, I can see the concern behind his eyes. Finally, young actor Sam Williamson as Daniel just nails the role of the eager teenager who cannot wait to be a part of the community’s militia. He makes one feel the character's impatience when things aren't resolved quickly enough and his annoyance at events that transpire.
Ultimately, MILITIA succeeds because it recognizes that insight can be more powerful than indictment, and it gifts viewers with a deeper understanding of how beliefs are formed, reinforced, and passed down. I find it a thoughtful look into a world about which I am largely unfamiliar, and I find myself thinking about it and what it has to say about the world in which we live.
MILITIA is available now on VOD and DVD.
