Follow TV Tropes

Following

Film / Cut to the Chase

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cut_to_the_chase_2016.jpg

A 2016 crime thriller film written by, directed by, and starring Blayne Weaver.

Max Chase (Weaver) is a petty criminal who's been helped by his prosecutor sister Isobel, aka "Izzy" (Erin Cahill), to get out of trouble many times before. Out on parole, he's soon into trouble again, losing at gambling and thus into debt with the formidable crime boss John Mansfield, simply known as "the Man" (Lance Henriksen).

However, after promising a goon the Man sent he can repay it with Izzy's help, Max finds that she's disappeared. Max sets out to find her, with the Man's goons after him, and learns they're connected when he meets Nola Barnes (Lyndie Greenwood), a witness whom Izzy had been prepping to testify against the Man, and she joins in his quest.


Trope examples:

  • Accidental Murder: While one of the Man's thugs is aiming his gun to kill him with another thug there behind him, Max knocks the guy's arm aside, which results in him shooting the other by mistake.
  • Affectionate Nickname: Isobel is called Izzy by everyone who cares about her.
  • Ambiguously Absent Parent: We don't learn what became of Max and Izzy's mom, since there is no sign she was around even in the flashbacks of the two as kids.
  • Big Brother Instinct: Max's instant reaction after learning his sister Izzy's gone missing is to find her at all costs, with his first stop being an abusive ex-boyfriend. It's shown he'd beaten up the guy in the past for hitting her, and he does so again thinking he's involved with her disappearance. When he's told that she's been killed, he vows revenge on whoever did it or helped at once. She's alive though, and he saves her.
  • Bisexual Love Triangle: It turns out this got Izzy into huge trouble. First, she'd already been involved with the DA, her male boss, and also started seeing Nola Barnes, the witness against the Man, a violent crime boss. Nola was so violently jealous of this she beat up and kidnapped Izzy, then kept her as a captive so she'd never leave.
  • Calling Parents by Their Name: Max only calls his father Cotton, never "dad" or something similar, as they're not at all in a good place with each other.
  • Damsel in Distress: Izzy it turns out is being held captive by Nola, and Max rescues her in the end.
  • Dark Action Girl: Nola is a hitwoman who has murdered multiple people in the past for her boss The Man. She had beaten up and kidnapped Izzy, her girlfriend, too when the latter tried to leave her. Then later once Max comes to rescue Izzy, she fights him before he kills her.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Nola tells Max that she'd once been innocent, but that a man had "taken her innocence", then she killed him in revenge (it's implied she was raped).
  • Depraved Bisexual: Nola turns out to have been seeing Izzy, and then slept with Max as well so he'd do what she wanted. It turns out she'd kidnapped and held Izzy captive after learning she was cheating then left Nola due to discovering she's a hitwoman. It's downplayed however as Izzy appears to also be bisexual, given that all the other relationships she'd had which we see except for this were with men.
  • Disposing of a Body: After two of the Man's thugs are killed while trying to kill him, Max dumps their bodies in the Louisiana swamps.
  • Domestic Abuse: Isobel was in a relationship with a guy, and wouldn't leave after he gave her a black eye in spite of Max warning that he'd also kill her someday. He's the prime suspect to Max when she disappears, but it turns out he isn't responsible. It turns out that she suffered this again even worse as she'd been seeing Nola and her boss at the same time. Nola found out, with Izzy leaving her because it's revealed she's a hitwoman. Izzy was then beaten up and kidnapped by Nola, who held her captive so she could never leave her.
  • The Dreaded: The Man, real name John Mansfield, is the most powerful crime boss in Shreveport, Louisiana. Everyone who speaks of him does so in trepidation or at least a healthy respect over how dangerous he is.
  • Fingore: Subverted. Max is threatened with this by Travis, the Man's enforcer, for not paying his debt. He relents after learning Max's sister is a lawyer and he's promised the money though, giving him one day for delivery.
  • Flashback: A number of these show Max's past with his sister Izzy, to fill in things.
  • Flashback-Montage Realization: Max realizes Travis is right about Nola being a hitwoman and involved with his sister due to things she'd said earlier, which are shown again for the audience.
  • Honey Trap: Nola seduces Max to manipulate him into not realizing she's actually the one who'd taken Izzy, pointing him toward the Man (who'd been her boss and also after her) in hopes that he'd kill him.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Max is an obnoxious habitual criminal who's been helped repeatedly without that much gratitude by his sister Izzy. He truly loves her however, going all out after she's gone missing to find her, and is at heart not a bad person.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Nola, who's very beautiful, wears a tanktop which shows her cleavage through most of the film. She also has sex with Max, with her breasts shown briefly and her bare backside while riding him aggressively. It's later revealed she also was involved with his sister Isobel, and is shown kissing with her in the past passionately.
  • Only Known by Their Nickname:
    • Isobel gets called Izzy almost always.
    • John Mansfield is mostly known as just "the Man".
  • Professional Killer: Nola turns out to be a hitwoman who worked for the Man, not just a drug runner as she had falsely claimed. She'd been returning from a job when she was caught while carrying the payment the Man gave her for it.
  • Queer Establishing Moment: It's revealed Izzy and Nola became lovers when the former (who is a prosecutor) was prepping the latter for testimony in a major case, via a flashback showing them kissing. Both of them appear to be bisexual, since they also have relationships and or sex with men.
  • Race Against the Clock: Travis, the Man's enforcer, gives Max 24 hours to come up with the money he owes... or else (this was after having threatened that he'd cut off his finger).
  • Revenge: Max immediately vows vengeance on whoever killed his sister Isobel, and sets out to get it along with Nola, a friend of hers. Nola herself killed a man in the past who did something which had "taken her innocence" too (it's implied he'd raped her). It turns out Nola kidnapped Izzy, and Max ends up killing her to rescue her.
  • Shower of Love: Nola goes into the shower naked after Max, and they begin to kiss there before moving into the bedroom.
  • Sleeping with the Boss: It's revealed Izzy was seeing her boss, the DA, who was also married.
  • The Syndicate: The gang John Mansfield, "The Man", heads controls Shreveport's organized crime, and so far law enforcement has been unable to take them down.
  • Toplessness from the Back: Nola is shown having sex with Max this way after her breasts are briefly visible, as the camera focuses on her back and bare buttocks while she's on top.
  • Twofer Token Minority: Nola is a bisexual black woman, and the only woman of color in the film.
  • Where Everybody Knows Your Flame: The Man runs a gay club named Central Station, which is also his base of operations, and it's seen briefly though not during working hours.

Top