Bob Odenkirk has carved out a fascinating niche as the "unassuming lethal everyman," and in "Normal," he once again proves why he's one of the most watchable actors working today. Reuniting with "Nobody" writer Derek Kolstad and teaming up with the stylistically eccentric Ben Wheatley, Odenkirk delivers a performance steeped in weary, shrugging doom, giving the film more heart than the script probably deserves.
In many ways, this feels like a spiritual evolution of his time in the Fargo television universe. Where Deputy Bill Oswalt was defined by a naive, almost tragic incompetence in the face of local evil, Ulysses feels like the version of that character who finally learned how to fight back. It's real nice (youbetcha) to see Odenkirk back in the frozen Midwest, trading Oswalt's wide-eyed denial for grim, calculating proficiency.
But despite those Fargo vibes, the film can't quite escape another, even more familiar comparison: Edgar Wright's "Hot Fuzz." Both films center on a fish-out-of-water lawman arriving in a seemingly quaint town and slowly peeling back the layers of a local conspiracy. Where "Hot Fuzz" thrived on meticulous, slow-burn tension punctuated by first-rate comedy, "Normal" never quite finds that same alchemy.
The film's primary failing is its impatience. The mystery never has time to settle into a true whodunit; instead, it rushes straight to the reveal, dumping its secrets onto the table with all the subtlety of a severed head. That leaves little room for the audience to puzzle things out alongside Ulysses, and even less room for the conspiracy to develop real nuance. Too often, the film relies on blunt exposition rather than discovery, with characters practically walking into scenes to recite their villainy like a grocery list. When major revelations arrive in the form of flat "here is exactly what I did and why" dialogue, the climax loses the charge of investigation and becomes a procedural information dump.
By the time Henry Winkler's delightfully smarmy mayor finally shows his hand, the cards are already face-up. What could have been a sharp, cerebral thriller instead becomes a straightforward, if still visceral, gauntlet. The third act isn't entirely predictable, which is a relief, but it still leans into the film's "too simple by half" sensibility.
Thankfully, there's real talent in the supporting cast to keep things lively around Odenkirk. Winkler is, as ever, a treat, and Lena Headey brings a world-weary presence to the role of barkeep Moira. Billy MacLellan is also consistently amusing as the overenthusiastic yet mildly incompetent Deputy Nelson. It's a shame the narrative doesn't give them more space to matter.
Despite its simplistic plot, Wheatley's visual flair delivers a suitably chilling Minnesota winter landscape. The action choreography keeps things engaging, with several satisfying "bone-crunching" scraps that aren't overwhelmed by hyperactive editing. The gunplay is similarly effective, though one suspects those old-fashioned stump removers would be far more lethal than the movie lets on.
"Normal" is a serviceable popcorn flick. I'm perfectly happy to watch more of the "ordinary Bob kills everyone" subgenre, but this one picked a tricky act to follow. Despite being an enjoyable, scrappy Midwestern-Western, it never quite reaches the heights of the films it seeks to emulate.
| Movie title | Normal |
|---|---|
| Release year | 2025 |
| MPAA Rating | R |
| Our rating | |
| Summary | This solid, "bone-crunching" Midwestern-Western thrives on Bob Odenkirk’s weary charisma and Ben Wheatley’s chilling visual flair, but is hampered by a lack of narrative patience, villains far too eager to explain their own conspiracy, and a central mystery with less depth than a local snowdrift. |
