Mark Reviews Movies: ONE WAY

One Way, Saban Films

Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter | Become a Patron

Review by Mark Dujsik | September 1, 2022

At the start of One Way, Freddy (Colson Baker, who's better known in the music industry by the stage name Machine Gun Kelly) has stolen a lot of money and drugs from a crime boss. Now, he just has to get out of town and away from the people hunting him. That's the setup of Ben Conway's screenplay, which somewhat changes up the formula of its chase premise by sticking Freddy on a bus.

Because of that, he's more or less trapped, which adds a certain degree of suspense, but because he's trapped, Freddy also doesn't have much he can do in this story except to literally ride it out and hope for the best. Conway and director Andrew Baird struggle to make this situation engaging, mostly because they keep trying to figure out ways to get him involved in other matters.

Most of the movie takes place on that bus, where the thick lighting, alternating between blue and red, is more a matter of atmosphere than function. Carrying a duffel bag filled with cash and cocaine, Freddy grabs his seat to head to safety. The first complication is that he was shut during the robbery, and nobody aboard seems to notice, care, or worry about how much blood he's losing and leaving all over the backs of seats and the floor and the bathroom.

We learn that Freddy has a few friends trying to help him, and all of them are being followed by Vic (Drea de Matteo), the head gangster from whom Freddy stole the stuff, and her goons. Elsewhere, there's Christine (Meagan Holder), his former girlfriend, a nurse, and the mother of a daughter Freddy has rarely, if ever, seen. He wants her help with the gunshot, but since he has a rare blood type, Freddy will need a compatible donor, such as, say, his father (played by Kevin Bacon), who got him involved in Vic's operation in the first place—as a child and as a victim of her sexually abusive ways, it turns out.

Obviously, there are plenty of details for these characters and their back stories, and since our protagonist is stuck in one place, most of the plot amounts to Vic getting closer while he waits and stews in physical and emotional pain. Baker communicates that well, although it's really the only thing Baird and Conway allow him to communicate within the restrictions of the material. Well, Freddy is also a decent guy, given how protective he gradually becomes of Rachel (Storm Reid), a teenage passenger on her way to meet an older man.

Just like Freddy, One Way is stuck in place. While there's certainly a story that could be told from this perspective and under these circumstances, the movie's insistence on acting as a thriller never quite works within the incredibly limited scope of the setup.

Back to Home

Buy Related Products