Vince Vaughn’s Grittiest Performance Was In This Heist Hangout Crime Drama

S. Craig Zahler has proven to be one of the boldest, albeit controversial, voices in genre cinema to emerge within the past decade. It often takes a standout directorial debut for filmmakers to identify themselves. Zahler certainly did that with his 2015 horror western Bone Tomahawk, which is regarded as one of the most violent films in recent memory. Any notion that Zahler was going to “sand off” his edges as he worked on bigger projects evaporated upon the release of his brutal prison movie Brawl in Cell Block 99, which featured an unusually gritty performance from Vince Vaughn as an incarcerated criminal setup on an undercover mission. While pairing up the former star of Fred Claus with an uncompromising voice of exploitation cinema seemed odd at first, Brawl in Cell Block 99 proved to be no fluke. Vaughnreteamed with his Brawl in Cell Block 99 director for the controversial cop thriller Dragged Across Concrete.

Dragged Across Concrete was released at a very consequential moment in Vaughn’s career, in which he needed to decide what direction he wanted to take moving forward. The successive failures of studio comedies like The Internship, Delivery Man, and Unfinished Business suggested that his brand of R-rated, awkward comedy no longer had an audience among younger viewers who were more interested in superhero movies. Brawl in Cell Block 99 risked feeling like a gimmick that Vaughn used to retain his notoriety, but it became a film that opened up his career to work on more interesting projects. Dragged Across Concrete proved to be one of Vaughn’s darkest roles to date, but it was also a sharply satirical hangout movie.

What Is ‘Dragged Across Concrete’ About?

Dragged Across Concrete centers on two corrupt cops who are put on suspension without pay after video evidence leaks of them brutalizing a Black suspect during a sting operation. While it’s a bad look for the police department either way, Detective Brett Ridgeman (Mel Gibson) and Detective Anthony Lurasetti (Vaughn) have had several complaints launched at them in the past, making the notion of their reinstatement even more unlikely. Both men are at a turning point in their lives, wanting to take the necessary steps to secure the future of their families. Brett is upset with the poorly maintained neighborhood that doesn’t provide for his family, and Anthony wants to propose to his girlfriend Denise (Tattiawna Jones). Yet, even if they aren’t on active duty, Brett and Anthony still have skills they can utilize, so they decide to rob the professional thief Lorentz Vogelmann (Thomas Kretschmann) as part of an elaborate heist.

Dragged Across Concrete is an effective deconstruction of the heist genre because it presents a depiction of criminals that is not glamorized in the slightest. The initial controversy in which Brett and Anthonys’ abuse is caught on video does not make them look like cool heroes taking down a force of evil; they’re simply bullies who take their anger out on victims because of their own incompetence. Although the film is set up to be an exciting heist story like Ocean’s Eleven or Baby Driver, there’s a mundane quality to the task that reflects a more accurate depiction of what pulling off this sort of sting would actually look like. One of the film’s funniest scenes involves an enraged Brett yelling at Anthony because he’s chewing too loud when they are on a stakeout; it’s as if Zahler wants to constantly point out to the audience how miserable and shady these characters are.

‘Dragged Across Concrete’ Plays on Vince Vaughn’s Strengths

While it is inherently a dramatic role, Vaughn uses the comedic skills he’s perfected throughout his career in Dragged Across Concrete. Vaughn has a proven talent for playing overconfident and egotistical characters. His roles in Dodgeball,Swingers, and others rely on the fact that the character overestimates his own charisma. This is quite similar to how Anthony is portrayed in Dragged Across Concrete, as he quickly proves to be ill-suited for anything in the heist that requires actual planning. At 159 minutes, Dragged Across Concrete is a long film with several extended segments in which not a whole lot happens. Thankfully, Vaughn adds a sense of comic relief by appearing to be just as bored and frustrated as the audience may have been.

Dragged Across Concrete gave Vaughn the chance to play a more realistic version of the womanizing, immature hero that he epitomized in comedy classics like Wedding Crashers and Four Christmases. It’s evident that Anthony has so little confidence in what he can provide for Denise that he feels the only way he can win her over is by purchasing an expensive diamond ring for her; the entire heist is a means for him to overcome his insecurities as a partner. Dragged Across Concrete doesn’t shy away from showing Anthony to be the hateful, incompetent criminal he is, yet Vaughn still brings a vulnerability to the character when he reflects on his failings as a partner. The fact that someone who has become as recognizable a comedic star as Vaughn was able to seamlessly slip into the role of a shady cop made the film’s examination of police brutality even more probing.

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Vince Vaughn Is a Crime Movie King

Vaughn has reinvented his career by turning to crime dramas. The genre has been integral to his stardom since he began taking on his first roles. Though it’s easy to forget that before he began making films with Jon Favreau and Owen Wilson, Vaughn starred as Norman Bates in Gus Van Sant’s controversial remake of the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho. His recent appearances in the controversial second season of True Detective and the underrated neo-noir western Arkansas indicate that it may be in Vaughn’s best interests to stick within this genre in the next few decades of his career.

Dragged Across Concrete is available to rent on Amazon in the United States.

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