Beyond the Reach
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJean-Baptiste Léonetti
Screenplay byStephen Susco
Based onDeathwatch
by Robb White
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRussell Carpenter
Edited byAdam Wolfe
Music byDickon Hinchliffe
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • September 6, 2014 (2014-09-06) (TIFF)
  • April 17, 2015 (2015-04-17) (United States)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.1 million[1]

Beyond the Reach is a 2014 American thriller film directed by Jean-Baptiste Léonetti from a screenplay by Stephen Susco, based on Robb White's 1972 novel Deathwatch. The film stars Michael Douglas (who also produced), Jeremy Irvine, Hanna Mangan-Lawrence, and Ronny Cox. It follows a naked and unarmed hunting guide running from a wealthy hunter who wants to ensure his silence in the death of an old man.

The film had its world premiere under its original title The Reach at the 39th Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2014. It was released in theaters and on-demand in the United States on April 17, 2015, by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.[2]

Plot

Ruthless tycoon and trophy collector John Madec flaunts his $500,000 all-terrain vehicle in a small Mojave desert town, buying off the local sheriff to bag an endangered desert bighorn sheep. The sheriff solicits the young but experienced tracker Ben to guide Madec an hour outside of town into the canyon country of Shiprock. Madec taunts Ben over his girlfriend, who has gone away to Colorado on a college swimming scholarship after being gifted a gun that Ben taught her to shoot. When Ben asks to see the permit to hunt the endangered bighorn, Madec offers a wad of cash, which the stunned Ben begrudgingly accepts.

When Madec—with a shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later philosophy—accidentally shoots an old prospector, Ben insists that they must report it as an accident. Madec puts another bullet from Ben's gun into the corpse, and after explaining how he can now blackmail Ben with questions of who was the actual killer, offers Ben a deal: Madec will put him through college with a finance major and give him a $300,000-a-year job in return for his complicity in covering up the crime.

When Ben picks up his emergency transponder, Madec destroys it and berates Ben for breaking the deal. Madec then threatens Ben with his high-powered rifle and orders him to strip off his clothes and shoes, forcing him to wander out in the desert, 45 miles from the nearest town, to die of dehydration and exposure. Madec plans to report that Ben went mad, shot the prospector, and wandered off into the barren horizon alone. To ensure his story is not contradicted, Madec watches Ben from a distance, using the scope from his rifle. Ben hides in the dead prospector's subterranean lair, but Madec blows it up with the prospector's dynamite stash. Before it explodes, Ben escapes with a 'treasure map' belonging to Charlie, whom Ben vows will not die without justice. Ben finds enough water inside of a barrel to survive. Madec shoots the barrel.

By sunset, Ben uses the map to find a wrist-brace slingshot and some marbles amongst a buried box of Charlie's personal effects. Ben heads for a hidden grotto of water that he and his girlfriend had swum in, only to find it dried up as his sun-burnt body now freezes in the desert night. Madec keeps watch with his vehicle's high-powered floodlights. Ben eventually outsmarts Madec to overcome him with the slingshot.

Back in town, Madec escapes from police custody during a bathroom break to board a helicopter that he solicited using his one phone call. Ben goes to his girlfriend and promises not to leave her side again. An armed Madec sneaks into their house as Ben and his girlfriend sleep and confronts them, but Ben's girlfriend shoots Madec using the same gun Ben gave to her. Madec is then killed by Ben.

Cast

Production

On September 7, 2013, Michael Douglas and Jeremy Irvine joined the cast of the film, then titled The Reach.[3] Filming began in Farmington and Shiprock, New Mexico on September 13, 2013, and wrapped in late October.[4][5][6][7]

Release

The film had its world premiere in the Special Presentations section at the 39th Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2014.[8][9] The next day, Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film for $2.25 million.[10][11]

Roadside Attractions released the film's first trailer on February 5, revealing its new title, Beyond the Reach, and announced that it would release simultaneously in theaters and on-demand in the United States on April 17, 2015.[12][13][14][15][16]

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 37% of 68 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.0/10. The website's consensus reads: "Beyond the Reach promises goofy genre pleasures, but fails to deliver, losing the viewer -- and a villainous turn from Michael Douglas -- in a misguided story that stumbles to the finish."[17] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 34 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[18]

Kyle Smith of the New York Post gave the film a half a star out of four, saying "Beyond the Reach fails to achieve the Southwestern-noir potency of No Country for Old Men, but there's no denying it brings to mind another Southwestern classic about malicious pursuit: the Road Runner cartoons."[19] Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic gave the film two out of five stars, saying "Beyond the Reach is a misfire, one of those movies that never quite rises to the level of guilty pleasure.[20] Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post gave the film one and a half stars out of four, saying "There are goofy, primal pleasures to be had in the first two-thirds of the film. But Beyond the Reach exceeds even its humble grasp in the final act, collapsing in a clatter of blockheaded manhunter-movie cliches."[21] Tirdad Derakhshani of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film two out of four stars, saying "There's not much here: The characters are paper-thin, and the action is slow, at times agonizingly so."[22]

Linda Barnard of the Toronto Star gave the film three out of four stars, saying "Douglas is in his element and the throwback, stylized look of the production makes Beyond the Reach an entertaining hit of escapist fun."[23] Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a negative review, saying "Beyond the Reach is a grueling, unsatisfying thriller that fails the logic test in spectacular ways.[24] Joe Neumaier of New York Daily News gave the film one out of five stars, saying "This film, though, lacks any spine. Director Jean-Baptiste Léonetti isn’t sure if he’s making a Hemingway-lite faceoff or a hemmed-in horror flick."[25]

References

  1. ↑ "Beyond the Reach". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  2. ↑ Brooks, Brian (April 17, 2015). "Michael Douglas Goes 'Beyond The Reach'; James Franco, Jonah Hill Tell 'True Story': Specialty Box Office Preview". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  3. ↑ Kit, Borys (September 7, 2013). "Toronto: Jeremy Irvine to Star Opposite Michael Douglas in 'The Reach'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  4. ↑ Gomez, Adrian (September 10, 2013). "Michael Douglas to star and produce 'The Reach'". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  5. ↑ "New Michael Douglas Film Will Be Produced In New Mexico". KRWG. September 10, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Michael Douglas film coming to New Mexico". The Santa Fe New Mexican. September 11, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  7. ↑ Boetel, Ryan (September 13, 2013). "Michael Douglas movie starts filming Saturday". Farmington Daily Times. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  8. ↑ "TIFF List 2014: The Complete Toronto International Film Festival Lineup With Grade Averages". IndieWire. September 4, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  9. ↑ Zeitchik, Steven (September 6, 2014). "Toronto Film Festival: Michael Douglas continues to reach". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  10. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (September 7, 2014). "Toronto: Lionsgate/Roadside Land Michael Douglas Thriller 'The Reach' For $2 Million". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  11. ↑ Siegel, Tatiana (September 8, 2014). "Toronto: Lionsgate/Roadside Nabs Michael Douglas' 'The Reach' for $2.25 Million". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  12. ↑ Jagernauth, Kevin (February 5, 2015). "Watch: Michael Douglas Hunts Jeremy Irvine In The Desert In Trailer For 'Beyond The Reach'". IndieWire. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  13. ↑ McMillan, Graeme (February 5, 2015). "'Beyond The Reach' Trailer Shows the Dark Side of Michael Douglas (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  14. ↑ Chitwood, Adam (February 5, 2015). "Michael Douglas Hunts a Person in First BEYOND THE REACH Trailer". Collider. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  15. ↑ Haas, Mariah (April 16, 2015). "Check Out Michael Douglas in His Latest Tough-Guy Role (VIDEO)". People. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  16. ↑ Buchanan, Kyle (April 16, 2015). "Why Does Michael Douglas Want to Kill This Poor, Shirtless Hunk?". Vulture. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Beyond the Reach". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Beyond the Reach". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  19. ↑ Smith, Kyle (April 15, 2015). "Michael Douglas' ludicrous 'Beyond the Reach' falls way short". Nypost.com. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Review: 'Beyond the Reach' a drama beyond comprehension". Azcentral.com. April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  21. ↑ O'Sullivan, Michael (April 16, 2015). "'Beyond the Reach': Michael Douglas as a deranged Gordon Gekko with gun". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  22. ↑ Tirdad Derakhshani (April 17, 2015). "Sensible, sensitive tracker vs. entitled, immoral hunter". Philly.com. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Desert Dancer, Beyond the Reach, The Dead Lands, Dior & I, Monkey Kingdom". Thestar.com. April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  24. ↑ Goldstein, Gary (April 16, 2015). "Review: 'Beyond the Reach' plot stretches beyond the pale". LA Times. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  25. ↑ "'Beyond the Reach' review: Tedious chase set in the desert". New York: NY Daily News. April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
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