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<\/a><\/p>\nImpressed with Murphy\u2019s workmanship and sympathetic to his predicament, Clancy presents him with an opportunity. If he and three prisoners of his choosing can help one of Clancy\u2019s associates out of a bind, he\u2019ll sign their release papers early, reuniting Murphy with his child. The catch? As prisoners, they\u2019re considered disposable. Their task is to make a dangerous trek at gunpoint, transporting gold stolen by its own mining overseer before it\u2019s reclaimed by the Franklin D. Roosevelt government \u2013 a real executive order<\/a> forbidding the hoarding of bullion in an effort to inject money back into the US economy. These are the beginnings of not only the movie\u2019s larger plot but the streamlined political backdrop against which the characters wrestle. Some are content to live under the bootheels of capitalism, transporting other people\u2019s gold for a pittance; others, especially those dealing with racial animus, are less enthused, leading to a mood of fomenting rebellion.<\/p>\n Risking life and limb over treacherous terrain, and under fire from bandits, Murphy\u2019s quest takes the form of breathtaking set-pieces interspersed with quiet character moments, which help flesh out the story just as much as the interpersonal banter. The men he chooses to accompany him are his sharp-tongued bunkmates, who, despite their wildly different backgrounds and dispositions, at least get along while playing poker. There\u2019s Rankin (Austin Amelio), a boorish WASP loudmouth; Olson (Lucas Lynggaad Tonnesen), a kindly, trusting Swede; and Singh (Avi Nash), a restless Indian-American socialist lumped in with the trio instead of in the \u201ccolored\u201d bunks, since Indians were legally considered \u201cCaucasian\u201d at the time. A pair of armed security guards \u2013 the terse Amis (Sam Hazeldine) and the burly Letender (George Burgess) \u2013 guides them on their journey, keeping their eyes and crosshairs trained on the prisoners. Along the way, the ragtag bunch also picks up a Native American straggler \u2013 the dexterous, headstrong Anna (Julia Jones), who bargains her way into the group and matches Murphy\u2019s penchant for MacGyver-ing his way out of sticky situations.<\/p>\n The film veers deftly between reflective silence and cheer-worthy pandemonium, yielding numerous heart-in-mouth moments. \u201c<\/p>\n The film veers deftly between reflective silence and cheer-worthy pandemonium, yielding numerous heart-in-mouth moments. The rotten planks of a steadily-collapsing bridge snap off with the thundering echoes of gunshots \u2013 the movie\u2019s sound design is impeccable, enhancing the motion of people and objects \u2013 while logs floating down a treacherous river practically assault the motley fellowship like a swarm of sharks. It\u2019s maddeningly intense, and often just as funny.<\/p>\n All the while, Hawke \u2013 as usual \u2013 puts on a clinic of performance that feels like the polar opposite of his meek, shallow, wordy (and recently Oscar-nominated) Blue Moon<\/a> character. His conception of Murphy is gruff but never caricatured. He serves the plot precisely, calculating each decision and motive with lucid clarity, and yet he embodies each scene in completely organic ways that create worlds of wordless backstory. Despite keeping largely to himself and to his mission, you know exactly who Murphy is, as though he were Jesse James or some other American outlaw who had risen to the ranks of folklore; perhaps the movie\u2019s opening wasn\u2019t so ironic after all. Would you believe Murphy\u2019s skills behind the wheel turn out to be relevant too?<\/p>\n