August 1, 2025
FILM: SHE RIDES SHOTGUN
DIRECTED BY: NICK ROWLAND
STARRING: TARON EGERTON, ANA SOPHIA HEGER, ROB YANG
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
The new film from director Nick Rowland begins with a suspicious man picking up a girl after school. He’s got a buzzed haircut, tattoos, and a questionable car with broken windows and cut wires. Why does the girl, Polly, go with him? He appears to be her father Nathan, played by Taron Egerton. She doesn’t seem scared but rather trusting of the man. The only question is, what happened to her mother? She Rides Shotgun is the story of the relationship between a girl and her dad under pretty horrendous circumstances. Over the course of the film, Polly will witness violence, killings, and one intense shoot out. Hence, not your everyday father-daughter situation but one steeped in crime drama conventions that are often quite disturbing.
Nathan’s intentions with Polly come from the heart but given his involvement with at least one drug cartel puts her in some awfully dangerous settings. Knowing this might happen, Nathan teaches her how to be strong and survive. Most of what we learn at the start is from the perspective of Polly. We only know what she knows. As the point of view changes though we find out that her life is in serious danger due to the drug world and some crooked cops. The plot of the film becomes more complex as we get to know the larger circumstances which are pretty grim. Yet, even in the midst of homicides and abductions, the film offers some tender and intimate moments between Nathan and Polly which emphasizes its other themes of love and loyalty.
If some of this is a reminder of Breaking Bad, well, that’s not a coincidence. The film is set in the same basic geographical region as that series. With his buzzed cut, Egerton as Nathan even looks a bit like Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman, albeit with a bit more muscle from time spent in prison. There are car chases, shootouts, and even some RVs in this fictional similarly meth obsessed region.
What is perhaps most interesting about the film is its exploration of false gods and people’s loyalties to those figures. We can understand why Polly might follow along with Nathan’s plans. He is her father and pretty charismatic. But there are other characters right up through the final scene that people have chosen to follow because they seem to offer something: alleged protection, loyalty, or an escape from the pain of everyday life. People trust those in positions of power whether they’ve learned to via religious training or from institutionalized forms of law enforcement or the media which continually promotes it. Kids, in particular, trade one god for another as they grow into adulthood.
Therein lies an element of the film which I wish would have been further explored. For all that Polly goes through, we can only wonder what her trauma will lead to. It’s hard to watch a young girl being subjected to such horrific conditions. Fortunately, the young actress playing her, Ana Sophia Heger, does so with the professionalism of a skilled performer. Her reactions are very naturalistic and feel genuine, thus creating a connection between her and the viewer.
Taron Egerton is also very good as Nathan. He’s tough and charming. It’s easy to see why he was cast as the father. Although, like a number of characters in the film, it is also hard to know whether he is trustworthy or not.
She Rides Shotgun isn’t an easy watch. It gets quite intense and violent but it does offer some interesting insights into what we expose children to whether intentional or not. Do we breed violence and bad behavior?
The film is now open in theaters everywhere.
FILM: SHE RIDES SHOTGUN
DIRECTED BY: NICK ROWLAND
STARRING: TARON EGERTON, ANA SOPHIA HEGER, ROB YANG
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
The new film from director Nick Rowland begins with a suspicious man picking up a girl after school. He’s got a buzzed haircut, tattoos, and a questionable car with broken windows and cut wires. Why does the girl, Polly, go with him? He appears to be her father Nathan, played by Taron Egerton. She doesn’t seem scared but rather trusting of the man. The only question is, what happened to her mother? She Rides Shotgun is the story of the relationship between a girl and her dad under pretty horrendous circumstances. Over the course of the film, Polly will witness violence, killings, and one intense shoot out. Hence, not your everyday father-daughter situation but one steeped in crime drama conventions that are often quite disturbing.
Nathan’s intentions with Polly come from the heart but given his involvement with at least one drug cartel puts her in some awfully dangerous settings. Knowing this might happen, Nathan teaches her how to be strong and survive. Most of what we learn at the start is from the perspective of Polly. We only know what she knows. As the point of view changes though we find out that her life is in serious danger due to the drug world and some crooked cops. The plot of the film becomes more complex as we get to know the larger circumstances which are pretty grim. Yet, even in the midst of homicides and abductions, the film offers some tender and intimate moments between Nathan and Polly which emphasizes its other themes of love and loyalty.
If some of this is a reminder of Breaking Bad, well, that’s not a coincidence. The film is set in the same basic geographical region as that series. With his buzzed cut, Egerton as Nathan even looks a bit like Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman, albeit with a bit more muscle from time spent in prison. There are car chases, shootouts, and even some RVs in this fictional similarly meth obsessed region.
What is perhaps most interesting about the film is its exploration of false gods and people’s loyalties to those figures. We can understand why Polly might follow along with Nathan’s plans. He is her father and pretty charismatic. But there are other characters right up through the final scene that people have chosen to follow because they seem to offer something: alleged protection, loyalty, or an escape from the pain of everyday life. People trust those in positions of power whether they’ve learned to via religious training or from institutionalized forms of law enforcement or the media which continually promotes it. Kids, in particular, trade one god for another as they grow into adulthood.
Therein lies an element of the film which I wish would have been further explored. For all that Polly goes through, we can only wonder what her trauma will lead to. It’s hard to watch a young girl being subjected to such horrific conditions. Fortunately, the young actress playing her, Ana Sophia Heger, does so with the professionalism of a skilled performer. Her reactions are very naturalistic and feel genuine, thus creating a connection between her and the viewer.
Taron Egerton is also very good as Nathan. He’s tough and charming. It’s easy to see why he was cast as the father. Although, like a number of characters in the film, it is also hard to know whether he is trustworthy or not.
She Rides Shotgun isn’t an easy watch. It gets quite intense and violent but it does offer some interesting insights into what we expose children to whether intentional or not. Do we breed violence and bad behavior?
The film is now open in theaters everywhere.