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The Driftless Area

2015 · 95 min

A quirky, melancholic neo-noir fable that drifts between deadpan humor and ghostly dread, asking for patience as it slowly unfolds its fatalistic puzzle.

Directed by
Zachary Sluser
Genres
Crime, Drama, Mystery
Tagline
Destiny can lead to dangerous places.
Overview
Pierre Hunter, a bartender with unyielding optimism, returns to his tiny hometown after his parents' death. When he falls for the enigmatic Stella, Pierre is unknowingly pulled into a cat-and-mouse game that involves a duffel bag full of cash, a haphazard yet determined criminal, and a mystery that will determine all of their fates. A contemporary fable about the ways we struggle to control time and fate in a possibly predetermined universe.

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Directed by
Zachary Sluser
Genres
Crime, Drama, Mystery
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • eeriestrength 2 of 3
  • whimsicalstrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • fate
  • death
  • love
  • grief
  • redemption
Places
  • small town
  • countryside
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror2
Humour4
Realism5
Romance5
Tension5
Darkness6
Complexity6
Emotional weight6

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Cast

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Details

Genres
crime, drama, mystery
Directed by
Zachary Sluser
Written by
Tom Drury, Zachary Sluser
Starring
Zooey Deschanel, Aubrey Plaza, Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Ciarán Hinds, John Hawkes, Frank Langella, Benjamin Rogers
Cinematography
Daniel Voldheim
Runtime
95 min
Country
United States of America, Canada
Languages
English

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