Fantastic Film Fest 2024 Review - The Last Stop in Yuma County

Images courtesy of Original Spin.

Badlands, baby.

An independent film. A directorial feature debut. A (mostly) single-location story. Face one of these as a filmmaker, and there’s already a taxing challenge ahead. But compact them all with an executive producer who sells his house to fund the film? That leap in the dark can look real sinister. But with a fashionable precision and passion bleeding through so much of Francis Galluppi’s The Last Stop in Yuma County, that leap is as graceful as they get.

Marooned at a remote, gasless rest stop, a mild-mannered salesman (Jim Cummings) and the diner waitress (Jocelin Donahue) await the arrival of a fuel truck alongside two criminals (Richard Brake and Nicholas Logan) on the run. In this deathly conundrum where factors swiftly shift from bad to worse, they must survive a most palpable tension, weaved through the seams of this film’s every front as they all await a terrifying possibility: life or death. 

The Last Stop in Yuma County is devoted to being an absurd yet stressful experience as it explores the destructive ramifications of greed through its intricate setting and each character’s emotional dispositions. In this lonely diner, Galluppi dominates the story; whenever someone walks through its doors, when the salesman solves an answer in his crossword, this high wire creaks both meaningfully and naturalistically. Each step comes steadily paced, calculated, and cannot help but be irrevocably gripping. 

Galluppi’s care for his story extends succinctly into its characters. While they one-by-one bring new complications, their outfits, mannerisms and dialogues stay consistently unique and sharply offer specific nuances that prompt a fine balance between absurdly funny and painfully tragic. Although this means these characters are undeniably entertaining, Galluppi also seems to withdraw backstory for the sake of precision. The desire to understand each character a little bit better burns throughout the entire film, however, these questions are dismissed by an ultimately dense cast that leaves little room for motivations and relationships beyond brief increments and one’s subtextual impressions.

The ticking doom painted for the characters — and their temperaments as the clock counts down — is articulated wonderfully by cinematographer Mac Fisken’s slow-panning long takes, playing so seamlessly, inviting immersion to their stress with ease. All the while, Matthew Compton’s meticulously daunting score defines every single change in the air; he seasons the emotions, and oftentimes, the absurdity or stressfulness of the dialogue. Whether it’s Brake’s unfeeling gaze looming at the centre of the shot over his growling voice, or Donahue’s waitress conceiving of an escape through her eyes dotting, all the shots and musical notes can express exactly the thoughts, anxieties or obliviousness they intend to.

Although this hostage situation bears unanswered questions about the lives these characters live, you’ll be dreading your fate in that diner right along with ‘em. Galluppi’s mindfulness in crafting The Last Stop in Yuma County truly shows what outstanding stories can come from taking a leap in the dark.

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The Last Stop in Yuma County is screening as part of Fantastic Film Festival Australia 2024. The festival runs from the 17th of April to the 10th of May, check out the festival website for tickets and more info here.