‘Last Stop in Yuma County’: The Thrilling Film Noir You Absolutely Shouldn’t Miss
It often takes mere minutes for a director to demonstrate whether they know what they’re doing, and that’s unquestionably true with regards to The Last Stop in Yuma County.
From its tantalizing framing and camerawork to its poised, anxiety-laced pacing, performances, and tone, writer/editor/director Francis Galluppi announces from the outset of his feature debut that he’s in complete, confident command of his material, and that self-assurance never wavers throughout the course of his expert neo-noir, which is in theaters and on VOD May 10. A tense, fatalistic saga of bad luck and worse decisions, it’s a throwback that feels as fresh and alive as its predecessors did decades ago. Not to be missed, it stands as one of the most welcome surprises of this moviegoing year.
Never stagey despite confining the majority of its action to a single location, The Last Stop in Yuma County sets up shop at a remote pit stop on a road cutting through the hot, dusty, windswept Arizona desert. At this gas station, an unnamed man (Jim Cummings) pulls up in a little yellow Toyota Corona in need of gas. Unfortunately for him and those who’ll follow in his wake, he learns from proprietor Vernon (Faizon Love) that the pumps are dry, the next filing spot is 100 miles away, and the refueling truck won’t be around until later in the day.