Review: Shot Caller

Shot Caller will draw in fans of Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau but is the type of film that should get seen by more than it will. Directed with an assured hand by Ric Roman Waugh (Snitch, Felon) the film is a gritty character study with a great lead performance.

The film splits its narrative across two timelines, one a flashback. In the current setting, we follow newly paroled Jacob "Money" Harlon (Coster-Waldau). He is an officer of sorts in a white supremacist prison gang who appears to be hitting the ground running upon release by working on a big gun deal. Physically domineering, covered in tats and with a big mustache, Coster-Waldau creates a man of few words but whose intention is clear. 

In the flashback, which is arguable more interesting, we see how Harlon is transformed into the shot caller he is. He was a family man with a loving wife and son. One night out with friends, he gets into an accident. He blows a high alcohol level and is soon off to prison for manslaughter.  Once in jail, we see him navigate his survival by joining up with a white supremacist group. He soon rises the ranks within the prison.

When focused on this transformation, Shot Caller is a very engaging portrait of how far a good man will go to survive and what the cost is. The film also has the ability to create a prison environment that is both realistic and fully realized. The film has some truly terrifying moments thanks to some spot-on casting and great set design.

Coster-Waldau gives a committed and convincing performance. Those only familiar with him as Jaime Lannister are in for a surprise here. The film pulls off its modest story with an impressive sense of setting and character. There is a stabbing at the prison that feels so realistic and graphic that it may send some into shock.  Roman Waugh is a talented director who continues to churn out prison set dramas and Shot Caller feels like his most assured effort.

3.5/5