Review of Arkansas (2020) by Marakai — 13 Sep 2020

More commonly known for his comedy work on The Office and Hot Tub Time Machine, Clark Duke makes his feature length directorial debut with a southern-fried noir that’s in many ways impressive but ultimately a mixed bag.

Duke not only directs but also gives himself a prominent role alongside Liam Hemsworth’s straight guy but his facetiousness is at odds with some of the plot’s darker elements. This only causes the film to feel unbalanced in terms of its tone but he does do an admirable job in stringing the narrative’s five chapters together and keeping tabs on slightly alternate time lines and characters - where Vince Vaughn stands out with a shady part to play.

 For the most part, I found a lot to enjoy here but, sadly, it becomes rushed and messy in its denouement.