The Dirty South Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

The Dirty South Blu-ray Movie Review

"I just take what I need when I need it."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown December 18, 2023

What do Steel Magnolias, 12 Years a Slave and low-budget, limited theatrical release neo-noir western The Dirty South have in common? It's not a trick question. I swear. As far as I can tell, the only correct answer is Natchitoches, Louisiana (say that three times fast), where the former two movies were shot and the latter drew its inspiration, being the small hometown of writer/director Matthew Yerby, making his feature film screenwriting and directorial debut. Unfortunately, a connection to one's stomping grounds does not a great film make. The Dirty South is... fine. It shows its budget, plays like entry-level crime drama, and has trope after trope, cliche after cliche dragging it down into unoriginal territory. It isn't bad. It's just exceedingly familiar, and when a low-budget indie breaks out and grabs attention, it's because it's something new and special. The Dirty South is a stab at legitimate Hollywood filmmaking, and there's enough here to see Yerby through to a second feature. But he'll need a tighter script, a sharper hook, more finely tuned performances and a grittier, grimier look to cut his Tinseltown teeth properly.

Small town bartender Sue Parker (Willa Holland, 'Gossip Girl', 'Arrow') finds herself in a desperate battle to save her family's struggling business, which is on the brink of collapse due to her father's neglect. When a handsome drifter named Dion (Shane West, 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen', 'A Walk to Remember') rolls into town, Sue sees him as her only chance to prevent the family bar from falling into the hands of ruthless local tycoon, Jeb Roy (Dermot Mulroney, 'Scream VI', 'My Best Friend's Wedding'). What starts as a simple plan to save her most prized possession quickly spirals into larceny, lawlessness and a game of deadly consequences. Written and directed by Matthew Yerby, the neo western also stars Wayne Péré, Laura Cayouette, Mike Manning, Andrew Vogel and Suzann Toni Petrongolo.

There's a bit of miscasting at work in The Dirty South. Other than a scuffed cheek and bloody lip, Holland is a touch too TV meet-cute to be convincing as a local girl-next-door slipping into a seedy world of crime, and pretty-boy with a goatee West mugs at the camera too much to be bought as a rough and tumble drifter. Had Yerby nabbed the likes of Kaitlyn Dever or Elizabeth Debicki and Jeremy Allen White or Timothy Olyphant, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Mulroney works, but only because the genuinely down-to-earth actor seems to have a good time sleazing it up and menacing on-screen innocents. Yerby's script could also use the same level of polish and tinkering as the casting, but much as it tries to bury the lead, The Dirty South isn't going to catch anyone off guard when they read the words "low budget". It looks it. It sounds it. It feels it. And not in a taut indie sorta way. It's bargain bin southern fried neo-noir, though its 2.39:1 aspect ratio, light grain and style look the cinematic part.

None of that's to say Yerby's debut is unwatchable. Nor is it too dull or self-serious. It has the sincerity necessary to sell its stakes, even if the performances never quite allow the femmes and foes to rise to the level of tough-as-nails damsels, thrill seekers or desperate desperados. It's just a tad too limp to work as a thriller that might pull you to the edge of your seat, and it's too predictable, in the formulaic sense, to raise the hairs on your neck or make you worry too much as to what might happen to Parker's pretty little head by film's end. It is a tried and true story after all, and I've no doubt Yerby has read all the prerequisite Cormac McCarthy and even dabbled in an Elmore Leonard dimestore novel or two. But The Dirty South merely masquerades as an homage to McCarthy and lacks the wit of Leonard. Again, Yerby isn't a bad writer, and his screenplay neither drags nor stumbles all that terribly. He just aims higher than he has the reach (or maybe the experience) to pull off. It's even worth mentioning that he finished the screenplay in 2018 and finally shot the film in 2022. For all I know, Covid and the shutdown of Hollywood wreaked havoc on everything he worked so hard to build in the years in between. What do I know? I'm committing a whopping five hours of my life to The Dirty South. It's Yerby's passion. I don't know the hurdles. He does.

Kudos for the ambition. But my two cents of advice -- which, as someone who hasn't had a screenwriting or directorial debut, is precisely what that advice is worth -- is this: go smaller. Simpler. More strategic with every dollar. More than anything, surprise me. Disarm. Disturb. Keep me guessing. Make my hands sweat. Make me worry about the family bar and what's going to happen to it. Give me something I haven't seen a dozen times before in similar iterations. Make me want to race into town and swear my gun to Parker's cause, or level that same pistol at Jeb and take care of the problem in one fell swoop. Make me feel it. Make me a part of it. Make a film that gives me reason to know your name and get excited for your next movie. Seriously. Ya got something. And I'm rooting for you.

The Dirty South Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Cinedigm's 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer looks the part fortunately, with desaturated colors, a cold windswept palette, and a touch of grain to give it that last little cinematic flair. Detail is quite good, though not as crisp as you might expect. Black levels, likewise, tend to dip low but never reach the bottom of the dynamic range, hanging somewhere around almost-black, heathered charcoal grays. But it's presumably due to the nature of the original photography rather than an issue with the encode. Ignoring that, there's actually not much to gripe about. Fine textures are well-resolved, delineation is notable, and edge definition is natural and free of artificiality. There also isn't any banding, compression artifacts or other anomalies to report, making this a solid, problem-free presentation.

The Dirty South Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dirty South is a far more low-key, low-explosivity crime drama. Gunfire and other splashes of violence get plenty of low-end support, and Cinedigm's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track earns its keep. Rear speaker activity is kept to a minimum as well, although outdoor spaces are given a good bit of life. Forests, fields and marshes are teeming with buzzing, chirping and the sound of tall grass whipping in the breeze. The soundfield is reasonably immersive, even if the movie is largely a chatty, front-heavy affair. Dialogue is intelligible and precise at all times, prioritization is spot on, and the film's genre score doesn't overwhelm or get lost in the mix.

The Dirty South Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Just a trailer. Nothing more.

The Dirty South Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ignore Dermot Mulroney's looming face on the cover of The Dirty South. He's as minor a minor character as it gets, and he's more a briefly glimpsed McGuffin than a full-fledged villain. Not that it matters. Yerby is telling a different story; one of vengeance and personal pain. It's been told dozens of times before, sure. And there isn't much new that The Dirty South brings to the neo-noir mix. But there's still some good buried in this slowburn crime drama, and Yerby might just be one to watch. If he can assemble a stronger cast and tighten up his scripting, he could land quite a punch. Here's hoping. I'm rooting for the guy. Cinedigm's Blu-ray release fortunately does well by Yerby, delivering solid video and audio that are faithful to Yerby and his cinematographer's intentions. It would've been nice to hear from the filmmakers via a few special features or even an audio commentary. But sadly we get neither in this barebones release. Give it a shot if you dig a decent indie and are willing to look past some derivative bits.