If my editor would allow it, “Straight Shooter” would be the first film I give a 6 star rating, it seems 5 stars must suffice. Prior entanglements with Adam aside, he has created a transgressive piece of neo-NEO-noir that makes me once more, believe in a guiding light in our universe. Ladies and Gentleman, that guiding light is the expertly realized character of Gail McEnroe.
Gail McEnroe (Imelda Staunton) is the titular “straight shooter” a one time suffragette turned private investigator who has given up on her faith; masterfully hinted at by the deft script as a result of the encroaching sexism of her trade. She is a revelation, a character whom is at once as cynical, downtrodden, and pent-up as we all are right now.* This is changed when Pauline Kadaeskeu (Florence Pugh) comes with the case of a lifetime, to find out how her father (Adam Driver) has returned from the Great War after being killed in action.
Do not get me wrong, I myself read this description and into my mind flitted tired thrillers, and psychological horrors of yesteryear, most often coming up short of their low expectations. This film proves the rule. By the end of the film you will believe in the impossible, you will hold those quarantined* alongside you close, and together will become whole. A transformative piece of work like this only comes once in not just a generation, but once in an epoch. See this film, because to watch “Straight Shooter” is to glimpse the face of god himself.
*editors note: Publication was written during the Quarantine epidemic of 2020.