Snitch
2013115 minutes
rated PG-13
by Scott Mendelson
Writer/director Ric Roman Waugh and writer Justin Haythe's Snitch (trailer) operates on two levels. On one hand, it's a pulpy and satisfying B-movie, a distinctly old-fashioned studio programmer about a normal man thrust into an abnormal situation. The film is compelling and engaging, keeping its head to the ground in terms of plausibility and authenticity. Even when the film chooses action, the action beats are small-scale and life-sized, which in turn makes them more suspenseful. But the film also operates on a second level, that of a somewhat angry political polemic. While the film doesn't go all-in in condemning the entire 'war on drugs', it sticks to a specific portion of that misguided policy and makes an unimpeachable case for its stupidity. The film thus earns bonus points for being able to successfully mix social moralizing with its action drama while sacrificing little in the way of story or character.
