With acting credits including American Honey, Zola, and The Florida Project under her belt, Riley Keogh has made quite a name for herself in the US indie scene. Moving behind the camera for the first time, she has partnered with her best friend and producer Gina Gammell to co-write and co-direct crime drama War Pony. Following the trials and tribulations of Native American boys Bill (Jojo Bapteise Whiting) and Matho (LaDainian Crazy Thunder) in and around South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation, the film explores their interweaving paths.
Loosely based upon the experiences of co-writers Franklin Sioux Bob and Bill Reddy, the narrative appears to be grounded in an authenticity that’s so integral to cultural stories such as these. Relatively light on plot, the script takes on more of a slice-of-life approach to its storytelling, blending the mythical nature of its candyfloss landscape with hard-hitting issues such as substance abuse, sex trafficking, and domestic violence. With this comes a canny blend of comedy and tragedy as the joint-protagonists navigate love and loss alongside their entrepreneurial schemes within an effectively hostile atmosphere that consistently threatens to boil over. From a technical point-of-view, Keogh and Gammell present a mixed bag of results; patchy in places but with moments of brilliance, particularly when the punchy hip-hop soundtrack comes into play.
Furthering the social-realist aspects of the film, the first-time directors call upon a cast of non-professional actors, mostly recruited from the reservation in which the tale takes place. In doing so, the portrayals have a Shane Meadows-esque quality, firmly rooted in naturalism. This can be a risk and doesn’t always work terribly well, but they’ve uncovered a real presence in Jojo Bapteise Whiting who stars as wheeling-dealing baby daddy Bill. Shielding his woes and insecurities with front and swagger, he is a fascinating, and oddly endearing character and carries the film through its weaker spells.
Offering a rarely-seen perspective on the coming-of-age crime flick, the debuting directorial duo of Keogh and Gammell use their vision and clout to amplify the indigenous voices of their collaborators. In doing so, War Pony is a compelling, faithful fable, and introduces a terrific Jojo Bapteise Whiting to our screens.
Cinema Perspective 