‘She Rides Shotgun’: Taron Egerton Gives Outlaw Tale a Fierce Dose of Fatherly Tenderness

Alci Rengifo

Stories on the edge can say more about the real meaning of family ties than your typical suburban drama. Nick Rowland’s “She Rides Shotgun” is a familiar outlaw tale of characters on the run disguising a reflection on fatherhood. Taron Egerton is tasked with giving the story life by having to avoid some of the clichés we associate with films where tattooed gangs are out to get payback. There is violence and more than one shootout, but Rowland is smart in paying more attention to the father-daughter relationship that is the true subject. We end up caring for the pair on screen even when we think we know where it’s all going.

Nate (Egerton) is a former convict who picks up his young daughter Polly (Ana Sophia Heger) from school but doesn’t take her home. To her distress, they are basically getting out of town. Her mother and stepfather have been killed and the cops automatically suspect Nate. He knows it was the work of the Aryan gang whose leader he killed while in prison. As they hit the road, Nate has to teach Polly some basics about fugitive survival including changing her hair color or using a baseball bat to knock out an attacker. On his trail is the vengeful gang of skinheads, as well as detective John Park (Rob Yang), who suspects there’s more to the case than meets the eye. He begins to concoct a plan where Nate can potentially infiltrate the meth operation the Aryan gang runs, in order to expose it from within. 

The plot elements may sound like the basics of your average chase thriller, yet they’re actually taken from an award-winning 2017 novel by Jordan Harper. “I read the book and loved it. Jordan is such an incredible writer and it was exciting to step into his universe. There’s a real energy and tenderness to the characters,” Rowland told Entertainment Voice. “It felt very propulsive and I was moved.” As a movie, the story works as an energetic indie, shot with grainy saturation by Wyatt Garfield. Egerton, probably best known for playing Elton John in “Rocketman,” doesn’t play all of his characters cards in the early moments of the film. We’re almost tricked into thinking he must be some deadbeat until the urgency truly kicks in.

Rowland ratchets up the suspense by layering developments that include Park beginning to suspect there is Aryan gang corruption in his police force or the appearance of threats for Nate and Polly to evade. At times the writing can feel like it’s overcooking the world. The main environment is a southwestern landscape of small towns and lonely gas stations. Whatever gang Nate angered apparently controls everything from random detectives to a sheriff (John Carroll Lynch) who turns out to be part of their drug operation. Captured drug mules get tortured in warehouses where their bellies get cut open to get cocaine packets. Nate and Polly find momentary shelter with an ex-girlfriend, Charlotte (Odessa A’zion), who eventually betrays him to one of the nefarious Aryan dealers with a fascist tattoo on their hand. This even after Polly tells Charlotte it’s obvious Nate still loves her. The performances have such sincerity that they raise the material to a stronger level than what’s probably on the page. 

Egerton and a very impressive Ana Sophia Heger accomplish making their characters beyond clichés and into a tender union that can get heartbreaking. There’s a wonderful scene where Polly does the typical move of grabbing a gun to protect her father when an attacker strikes. Instead of egging her on, Nate nearly breaks down and demands Polly never use a gun ever again. He doesn’t want her to become a carbon copy of his former violent life. You rarely see that in a thriller, especially in the U.S. where weaker films would champion the macho gun-toting ethos. The same goes for a moment where Nate is shot in the leg and needs Polly’s help dressing the wound. It becomes a scene about teaching his daughter how to navigate a difficult situation that requires quick thinking and focus. “It’s not an easy film to make, it’s a labor of love,” Rowland said. “Taron is not a father but I love the idea of how his character has to learn to be a father but doesn’t really know what that is. He wants to protect his daughter but doesn’t know how to do that. That was more interesting to me.” 

“She Rides Shotgun” does eventually culminate with one of those standoffs where characters dodge bullets and barricade themselves in a final locale. Rowland still finds a way to make the moment have some wrenching heart. This is the rare kind of thriller where we’re invested in the relationship to the point where it’s beyond crime and gangs. Yet, it’s precisely because of the kind of character Taron portrays that it becomes so moving. People make choices that turn their lives into a storm, but at times the bond that develops from having an offspring can have the power to overcome all that. Nate’s tragedy is that Polly has to learn to grow up because of situations she never asked for. “She Rides Shotgun” aims well by having a genuine human angle to its suspense.

“She Rides Shotgun” releases Aug. 1 in theaters nationwide.