Live Free Or Die (No, not "that' one!)

[soundmotor]

An indie film set in NH about a small-time hood (and calling him a hood is stretching it.). More like a marginally successful scammer or a squirrel relentlessly trying to get into a birdfeeder. He just barely makes a deal work once in awhile but not enough so that he is actually on anyone's map by his acts. His mouth is another story however. John "Rugged" Rudgate talks up his "accomplishments" to anyone he knows even leeching onto a local unsolved murder and taking credit. He drives a rusted out van from which he sells awesome speakers and works the product rebate angle as hard as he knows how. And slowly he gets entangled into something a bit bigger than he expected.

This film has raw spots so you probably need to be an indie film fan to enjoy it. If you peruse the imdb reviews you'll see roughly a 50/50 split between genius & crap comments. I'm in the former camp and this film is just about pitch perfect to me. Living in the northeast I can tell you over the years I've known Rudgate and the friends in his orbit, the characterizations are spot on and hilarious as is the film. They even nailed the Herman Survivors & the parka Rudgate wears too. From Billerica up, those are iconic year-round wear. It has a cast of relatively unknowns, Zooey Deschanel & Michael Rapaport the biggest names for me but everyone turns in a performance that sets the tone. Not as polished as Wristcutters or Clay Pigeons, but it is absolutely a companion piece to them. I liked this one a lot.



Live Free Or Die (2006) IMDB