RLJE Films
Being committed to a role might look like studying a character an actor is playing or gaining weight to make the performance more believable. When an actor such as Shia LaBeouf gets a chest tattoo with his character’s name on it, that may seem like a bit much. Then again, Shia LaBeouf is a bit much. LaBeouf plays Creeper alongside Bobby Soto in the new South Los Angeles set thriller The Tax Collector, directed by David Ayer. Their job is to collect money from street gangs, but when a Mexican gangster reappears after ten years, it puts Creeper and David (Soto) in a predicament that will challenge them.
David Ayer specializes in South Los Angeles crime thrillers. Films like Bright, End of Watch, Harsh Times, and Street Kings all feel similar to his newest film. Ayer was once a director I admired, and I often thought of him as one of the greats of our time. Ever since his disastrous 2014 film Sabotage, his work has gone downhill and it’s hard to look forward to a new film from him. With his latest, I think it’s time to move onto a new style of filmmaking.
The film wants us to know in the beginning that it will be about love, honor, loyalty, and family as those words appear on screen within the first few minutes of the movie, but it is far from that. The characters of David and Creeper feel flat as they try to live up to the film’s important message. David, a family man, has a heart when it comes to torturing people who don’t pay up. He cares about his wife and children and will pray at the dinner table. He seems like an overall kind guy, despite murdering people on the side. Bobby Soto doesn’t fully feel invested in the character which leads to a generic character set in a cliché David Ayer world. On the other hand, we have Shia LaBeouf, who fully commits to the role not only by inking his entire chest but takes on the role of an outsider as he is the only non-Hispanic in a Latino cast. His deep menacing voice scares local gangs and his presence is felt through South Los Angeles. There has been some backlash with people accusing Ayer of ‘brown facing’ by casting a white male for a Latin role, but it is far from that.
Ayer, once again, utilizes the slo-mo technique during action sequences. Moments where David and Creeper are pitted against gangs and must fight for their survival, the film lacks intensity as the camera work is clichéd. Sometimes slo-mo action scenes work, but in this case, it does nothing for the film. I couldn’t shake the feeling during the film that it felt like something made for television, aside from the violence. The overall tone and directing seemed like something that would hit Cinemax as a limited series. It didn’t have that ‘movie’ feel that you would get with other films. There was a lot of down time with David and his family that could work as episodes. I had to remind myself throughout that I was watching a movie instead of a show.
The Tax Collector was a huge letdown. I don’t know why I get excited for a new David Ayer film. I reminisce about the good old days where he directed gripping films instead of movies with poorly directed action scenes with thin characters. The film was so forgettable that I don’t even remember seeing Shia LaBeouf’s tatted chest in the film.
The Tax Collector has a run time of 1 hour 35 minutes and is not rated.
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