A hitman finds himself in the middle of an odd murder mystery in Shane Atkinson’s Laroy, Texas. Set against the beautiful Texas backdrop, the cinematography instantly reminds me of Ethan and Joel Coen’s No Country for Old Men. Atkinson does pay a little homage to the 2007 classic in his movie, as he brings sheer entertainment to the screen.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In The Movie?
Harry is a hitman who looks like a kind old fellow, and I’m sure if he has grandchildren, they will most probably love him. In the opening scenes, Harry kills a guy, yet his mannerisms seems like he’s the one whose life is in danger. Cracking halfwit jokes nervously and giving people a lift before killing them is actually a great persona for a killer. We skip to Ray, who’s clearly losing in life running his hardware store with his brother. His wife wants to open a salon, and there’s no money in his bank to make that happen. Ray’s brother Junior is his business partner; he lives in a lavish house with a yacht in his driveway. Junior claims Ray and he make the same money, and he has better things because he is a smarter businessman. Ray bumps into Skip, Junior’s friend from his teenage years, who has now become a private detective. Essentially an idiot, Skip wears a flashy blazer and a cowboy hat and gets picked on by the local cops. Skip shows some pictures of Ray’s wife to him, where Stacy Lynn is heading into a motel. With no money, a cheating wife, and basically a life that offers him nothing, Ray decides to kill himself. He gets a gun to end the misery, but a man unknown to him gets in his car and gives him money for a hit job. Being a pushover all his life, Ray decides to take the job. The job was meant for Harry, who arrives a few minutes later to find nobody waiting for him.
Does Ray Kill James Barlow?
Ray starts to follow the man who he’s supposed to kill, and after following him all day long, he ends up in a bar. Skip is at the bar too, and he tries to make small talk with women but eventually fails. He notices Ray, but Ray doesn’t pay much attention to him. The man is James Barlow, a lawyer by profession. James senses that Ray has been following him, and he confronts him in Ray’s own car. Ray panics and shoots James, instantly killing him. With no witnesses around, Ray dumps Adam’s corpse on a random roadside. Meanwhile, Harry keeps a police scanner with him to keep track of things, and he hears about the dead body the cops have found. He’s figured out that somebody else did the job, and his rage only increases after this. The cops find Stacy-Lynn’s picture in Barlow’s hands, and she’s taken in for questioning. Ray is so real about this; the poor guy didn’t even check the body before dumping it. Stacy Lynn is eventually released, while Skip is still mad at Ray for not ditching her.
Who Is Stacy-Lynn’s Secret Lover?
Ray doesn’t confront Stacy-Lynn, even after the pictures Skip showed him. He sees Stacy dressing up to go to a movie, but she can’t tell him which movie it was after coming back. The way she cheats on Ray is pretty obvious, but Ray isn’t ready to believe it. Ray thinks if he gets the money for her salon, she’ll love him back. Stacy-Lynn is a narcissistic individual who can’t get over the one beauty contest she won in her younger days. Ray goes to check up on Junior, and that’s when he finds out who Stacy-Lynn is with. Junior’s wife, Kayla, knows about her husband’s adventures, and she tells Ray that it’s his wife that Junior is with.
Why Does Skip Partner Up With Ray?
The man who gave the hit job to Ray shows up at his store. Apparently the dead guy had a lot of money on him, and now the money seems to be lost. Ray has 24 hours to find the money. Skip had noticed Ray following James out of the bar. Skip ignores Ray’s wishes and blackmails Ray to assign himself to the case. The cowboy and the sad boy ride together for a way out of this mess. Skip almost kills an associate of James while investigating, but thankfully Ray knows enough CPR to bring the guy back from the dead. Skip does manage to get a lead out of Adam Ledoux, a man who talked with Barlow on a call about a case of blackmailing. Adam was cheating on his wife, and Skip and Ray find out that a stripper was blackmailing Adam to give her 250 thousand dollars in exchange for her silence. Adam gave the money to his lawyer, James Barlow, to handle the transaction. Even though Adam told his wife about it, he needed to pay off his blackmailer to save his reputation as a respectable businessman. The stripper turns out to be Angie, Skip’s ex-girlfriend.
What Happens In Angie’s House?
Harry has found out about the guy who never showed up after contacting him. Angie’s boyfriend is the person who accidentally gave Ray the contract for killing Barlow. Harry sits at Angie’s table and breaks the guy’s fingers while questioning him. Harry thinks that killing is the easier part of the job, with the rest being mostly driving around, staying in dirty motels, and eating bad food. He’d already done most of the job when he arrived to take the contract. Harry kills the guy in cold blood and leaves just before Ray and Skip pull up to the house, facing gunshots from Angie before a single word is exchanged. Angie went out once with Skip, and even that was a favor to him. She reveals that she was working for Ledoux , and they never slept with each other. Ledoux ’s wife inherits a sizable fortune from her father, and she’s the rich one. Ledoux wanted to take money from his own wife, and Angie was only going to get 10 percent of it. Angie’s boyfriend got greedy, and he wanted the lawyer dead so he could pocket the money. He threatened Ray for the money earlier, and now Ray stands over his dead body.
Do Ray And Skip Find The Money?
Mrs. Ledoux sends men to Ray and Skip, and it appears she wants to talk. She explains that she had knowledge about her husband’s scheme, and it’s not new to her. She gave the money willingly but couldn’t take it back even after Barlow’s death, as his safe was empty. She thinks her husband has two weaknesses: women and gambling, and she’s accepted she’ll have to live with that. Ray asks her if she thinks that she deserves better. Mrs. Ledoux is happy with the bits and pieces of happiness, and she knows deserving has nothing to do with real life. She’s just content thinking her husband will eventually come back to her, and that’s how low her expectations are. She asks the amateur professionals to find the money, and suddenly Ray remembers something he hadn’t before. They go back to the bar where Ray killed Barlow, and Ray thinks he had a briefcase with him that he didn’t take inside the bar. Skip notices that the parking spot is not for all-nighters, and the car must’ve been towed. Skip smashes the window of Barlow’s car and finds the briefcase full of dollar bills. But Ray stands behind him, holding Skip at gunpoint. Ray wants the money for himself.
Does Ray Get Arrested For Murder?
Ray is on top of the world after getting the money, and he drives straight back to the love of his life, Stacy-Lynn. She had found the contract money Ray got for killing Barlow, and Ray finds Stacy-Lynn, along with Junior, in the house. Ray is overjoyed, and he tells Stacy-Lynn that now she can open her own salon. But Stacy-Lynn was up to something different, and she turned Ray in to the cops. After Ray is gone, Junior and Stacy-Lynn take the money and run away together. Harry once again gets the information about Ray’s arrest from the scanner and follows him. Harry kills one of the cops and shoots at the tires when the other cop tries to drive away. But he’s a professional, and his aim is impeccable. The car crashes, but that’s enough time for Ray to disappear.
Does Ray Survive Harry’s Wrath?
At the end of Laroy, Texas, Skip finally tracks down Harry, and Harry takes him hostage. Ray discovers that Stacy-Lynn and Junior have fled; Junior has left his wife and kids for his brother’s wife; and they say Alabama is sweet. Harry contacts Ray and asks him to bring the money if Skip is to live. Ray drives out of town to find the striking yacht in a motel’s parking lot, tied to Junior’s car. Harry walks in on them in the shower and shoots Junior in the chest. He finds Stacy-Lynn’s beauty crown kept on the table, and a guilt-ridden Stacy-Lynn comes out of the shower, dressed this time. Ray lets her live after saying he wants a divorce, sweet guy. Harry and Skip arrive at the motel, and Ray asks Harry to let Skip go if he wants the money. After Skip comes to Ray, he shoots at Harry before getting shot himself, and the duo crawl back into the room. Ray gives the briefcase to Skip and asks him to go to the cops and solve the case. He acknowledges their friendship and apologizes to Skip for saying they’re not friends. Skip leaves with the money with a heavy heart, and Harry and Ray shoot at each other again soon after. Harry walks out of the motel with a bloody stomach. Ray’s not so bad after all, with the gun. Ray is alive too, and he limps his way to the washroom, watching Junior choke on his own blood while still alive. Ray sits on the bathtub and reflects on his life as a beautiful Cowpoke cover starts playing. The choice of this song truly completes the film, and Skip gives a lift to a dejected Stacy-Lynn. None of the characters get the life they want for themselves, and that’s how Mrs. Ledoux described life to be.
