In making a good drama, one that will leave you hanging on every action in front of you can be difficult to pull off. For me one thing that helps achieve that is constantly heightening the story and in doing so changing the characters, because the stakes can all of a sudden become higher. The Standoff at Sparrow Creek does just that as it places a group of men in a situation where they have to figure things out before things get a lot worse.
This day starts off like most where these men live, it involves hunting and really staying away from everyone as much as they can. Things become different when Gannon (James Badge Dale) hears an automatic rifle blast in the distance which causes him to call a meeting with the local militia, a group he is part of. They meet in a warehouse, where he is joined by Ford (Chris Mulkey), Beckmann (Patrick Fischler), Morris (Happy Anderson), Hubble (Gene Jones), Noah (Brian Geraghty), and Keating (Robert Arameyo). What brings them together is the knowledge that the heat will come down on them for what has happen and when they notice missing equipment, it will be up to Gannon to figure it all out before it all falls apart and possibly bring some of these men down in the process.
This is such a good movie, one that will grab your attention from the get go and never lets it loose until the end. Henry Dunham, who both wrote and directed this, delivers something that borders on perfection because of his story and the cast he has put together. Lead by the always entertaining James Badge Dale, all the actors stand and deliver some pretty high tension moments that bring out the best in all of them. Dunham doesn’t just use his cast and words to build things up, as he also uses his environment which helps set up some of the film’s most satisfying moments. Damn I loved this movie and don’t think there are enough words I can type that will show you how much I do. We need more from Dunham and stories like this, because when something is done so right, more is the only thing you want. Find this movie and see it, support it and love it like me, because this is one standoff you want to be a part of.
