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2018 SHOT CALLER: A Terrifyingly Accurate Castigation Of White Supremacy | Film Inquiry

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SHOT CALLER: A Terrifyingly Accurate

Castigation Of White Supremacy
What Shot Caller lacks for, narratively, it makes up for in its complex character study guised as a
prison drama, expertly exposing human nature's animalism....

 SE PTEMB ER 11, 2017  Al e x Ar a b ia n  1 C omm en t

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Director Ric Roman Waugh is no stranger to gritty prison dramas. The former stuntman wrote
and directed Felon and Snitch, both of which explore the animalistic nature in humanity through
the shortcomings of the American penal system. However, in the four years since Snitch,
Waugh seems to have shed some of the clichés that have hindered not only his previous
prison-centric lms, but also prison lms in general. With Shot Caller, Waugh provides a
shockingly realistic portrayal of a awed, regressive penal system that not only focuses on
punishment over rehabilitation and treatment for its guilty inmates, but forces morally sound
human beings to do the unspeakable to survive.

As a lmmaker, Waugh is committed to portraying the e ects that extreme trauma can have on
one’s psyche; in 2015, he directed the documentary, That Which I Love Destroys Me, which follows
two Iraq War military veterans su ering from PTSD. Those who are imprisoned for years, with
the violence that is consistently condoned and willfully ignored by poorly-run penitentiaries,
often experience similar, PTSD-like e ects that somebody serving in war may experience.

In prison, there is an unspoken code: whatever color your skin is, no matter what your
ideologies are, you’re considered a member of the gang that most closely resembles your
ethnicity. If you don’t accept that, you have the high likelihood of being murdered for fear of
taking anyone’s power away. Of course, those serving small time in minimum security prisons
usually don’t have to worry about this dynamic.

In Shot Caller, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, in an astonishing, tour-de-force performance, plays

Jacob, a successful, white-collar businessman sentenced to jail for involuntary manslaughter for
running a red light and killing his best friend (Max Green eld) while driving intoxicated.
Subsequently, over the course of ten years, the “human animal” emerges in Jacob; he becomes
a ruthless savage, a reluctant pawn in the corrupt, unorganized U.S. prison system.

The Resurfacing Of White Supremacy

Look around you. Turn on the news. Read the average social media thread on a given article
from a popular publication. Look at the United States Of America’s president. On top of
appealing to a misguided, desperate working class that has been ignored by large corporations,
the asshole-in-chief’s rise to power was directly correlated to the overwhelming support from
white supremacists. As a result, after his win, an entire population, largely dormant for decades
after social progress prevailed over prejudice, was given a voice, one that Trump consistently
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empowers by showing his support through his obscene comments in the media.
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It turns out this population in America, who truly are deplorable (yes, I said it; no I won’t take it
back), is far larger than anybody in the world thought. The American Civil War ended 152 years
ago, either adapt to change, or get out of my country. You are not wanted here by the vast
majority of our citizens, you ignorant, perverse excuse for human beings.

so urce : Saban Fi lm s

Much like what Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room did in virtually predicting the rise in mobilized
racial violence caused by white nationalists, seen everyday in unlawful shootings of minorities
by police o cers and violent riots and protests, Shot Caller shows with lurid, uncompromising
detail how unnervingly organized white nationalism has become in American society. In Jacob’s
prison, the neo-nazi gang runs the prison, controls most of the guards, and dictates who lives or
dies. Coster-Waldau, pasty with blonde hair, seems to be the ideal recruit, especially given his
character’s nancial savviness, hence his nickname, “Money.”

The Human Animal

Jacob does what he has to. Alas, petty crimes evolve into life-altering acts of atrocities. Once
you’re in the gang, you can’t leave. Throughout Shot Caller, a ctitious book is referenced, titled
The Human Animal. Its author, Kieran Sequoia, was actually an assistant production
coordinator on the lm’s crew. If the title of the book sounds familiar, that’s because it’s actually
based on a real novel.

Written by anthropologist Raoul Weston La Barre (many of whose views were, not

surprisingly, o ensively outdated), The Human Animal essentially decries that “man” is closer to
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its primate ancestor than we think, and that social constructs and appropriate human SHOP
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are simply super uous, evolutionary defects in our species. In placing this subtext within Shot
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Caller, Waugh underscores the life-threatening necessity for the immediacy of Jacob’s
adjustment in prison society to survive his lengthy sentence.

What does this mentality lead to for Jacob? Nothing remotely good. Upon his release, he is
forced to ful ll the vindictive and violent orders of his white supremacist gang’s superiors. What
separates this from a run-of-the-mill “breaking bad” storyline? There isn’t one morsel of Jacob’s
pale esh that embraces his white-nationalist alter-ego. It is a front to separate himself from his
family for their safety; the entire lm, every action committed by Jacob is done to cut the
proverbial chord. Jacob knows it’s in his wife (Lake Bell), son, and daughter’s best interest to
forget about his existence.

No Respite For Coster-Waldau And The

Crew
Finally, Coster-Waldau has found a role worthy of his range. Playing an incestuous knight on
Game Of Thrones has given him fame, but, ironically, it’s limited work as an actor. Coster-
Waldau clearly doesn’t want to be the “Jaime Lannister” of the lm industry: all looks with no
hand to execute his artistry. As such, he’s surrounded himself with talented lmmakers and
actors, accepting less- attering roles, learning from his peers, perfecting his craft.

Though, at a certain point, one has to assume that Coster-Waldau has had his acting chops
perfected for quite some time now. In Shot Caller, there is not the slightest inclination that
Coster-Waldau wasn’t born in America. He was born in Rudkøbing, Denmark, yet he can fake
an English or American accent so convincingly, it seems almost an impossible feat. How it is
possible for actors like Coster-Waldau to accomplish this mastery of language remains an
enigma to me. Not even fellow countryman Mads Mikkelsen can pull o an American accent
quite that well.

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so urce : Saban Fi lm s

Ken Diaz deserves immense credit for his work as the Makeup Department Head and tattoo
designer. He awlessly ages Coster-Waldau ten years (with an extra ve or ten added on due
to stress endured during Jacob’s time served). Furthermore, Katie Douthit’s hair-styling is
tonally synchronous with Waugh’s ingenuity. Not only is her natural greying of head and facial
hair believable, but her choice of consistently long hair for Jacob is meant to symbolize his
character’s denouncement of his own “gang,” their beliefs, and the unspeakable actions he’s
committed in the name of violence for violence’s sake. Speaking of which, there will be
blood; Shot Caller‘s visceral gore is not for the faint of heart.

Jacob remains ideologically and physically di erent amongst his racist counterparts. Speaking
of physicality, it appears Coster-Waldau underwent some sizable body transformations,
embracing Lee Strasberg’s famous method acting approach used by so many legends (Marlon
Brando, Robert De Niro, etc.). He begins the lm scrawny and clean-cut, considerably void of
any crease or unwanted facial hair. By the end of Shot Caller, the audience sees a grizzly,
bulkier Coster-Waldau at least 30 pounds heavier in muscle-mass. Either it’s a work of camera
wizardry by Waugh and cinematographer, Dana Gonzales, or Coster-Waldau went the
distance.

Along with this physical transformation assisted by key o -camera crew members, there is an
essential emotional astuteness that Coster-Waldau brings to Shot Caller. Without it, the lm
wouldn’t have the e ect it needs to articulate its message. He switches audaciously from
feigning his best tough-guy face around his fellow inmates, to quietly sobbing in the dark corner
of his isolated jail cell.

The Paradox Of Duality

Gonzales uses lighting particularly well to highlight not only Coster-Waldau’s aforementioned
change in physique, but to subliminally invite the audience to experience his isolation with him
by using lighting to cast shadows in his literal and gurative jail cell, separating the lightness
from the darkness, signifying his con icted, inner moral duality.

After all, Shot Caller is a character study, and, accordingly, Coster-Waldau is in 99% of the lm.
He does the lm’s speaking for itself even when there is no dialogue, so much so that Antonio
Pinto composes a subtle, foreboding score that makes room for such a large onscreen
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presence. A score that isn’t competing for volume allows the viewer to hang on every mumble,
whisper or slight of body language that Coster Waldau provides
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whisper, or slight of body language that Coster-Waldau provides.

so urce : Saban Fi lm s

Though it fortunately paid o because of Coster-Waldau and the crew’s commitment to a

singular vision expressed by Waugh, this plot formula for such an intense and close character
study, by default, ignores an underutilized secondary cast. Bell, Green eld, Benjamin Bratt,
and Jon Bernthal do not get enough screen time, particularly Bell and Green eld. Their
characters are all one-dimensional. As the wife, Bell is only provided with so many scenes
onscreen to sell the family drama aspect of Shot Caller well enough. However, thankfully she’s
an extraordinary talent, so she reads far more in between the lines than most actors would do
in a similar role.

Waugh deserves immense credit for tackling pressing themes of institutional racism,
segregation, and the lack of humane care of mental health in the age of modern medicine. He
doesn’t always execute these themes palatably for the viewer, however, as the narrative time-
jumps and editing out of secondary characters inhibits his subtexts.

What Shot Caller lacks for, narratively, it makes up for in its complex character study expertly
guised as a prison drama, displaying human nature’s animalistic tendencies and humankind’s
manufactured prejudice perpetuated by petty cross-cultural di erences. Shot Caller is essential
viewing, and one that will leave an unsettling but necessary, lasting impact on the viewer,
providing them with plenty of philosophical ammo to play with.

Did you nd Shot Caller engaging? What is your favorite Waugh lm? Favorite Coster-
Waldau performance? Tell us you thoughts in the comments below!
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Shot Caller was released on digital streaming platforms on August 18, 2017 in the United States. For
all international release dates please click here
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all international release dates, please click here.

Shot Caller O cial Trailer #1 (2017) Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Jon Bernthal Crime Dra…

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POST TAGS:
2010s 2017 crime Dana Gonzales drama gang gangster institutional racism Jon Bernthal
Lake Bell Nikolaj Coster-Waldau penal sytem prison racism realism Ric Roman Waugh
social commentary thriller United States white supremacy

Alex Arabian

Alex Arabian is a lm critic, journalist, and freelance lmmaker. His work

has been featured in the San Francisco Examiner, AwardsCircuit.com,
and PopMatters.com. His favorite lm is Edward Scissorhands. It goes
without saying that not all lms are good, per se, but he believes that he
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