November 2, 2025 – I've been searching for movies to watch lately to fill in the time of year before awards season gets going in earnest, and I found this gem from 2019, which is available on Prime Video and Apple TV.

This has a title similar to a 2025 Jason Statham action movie, but this is quite different from that. This is a drama about the economic life of a town threatened by a factory being shut down. It is more than that, however, it is about the importance of honorable work, and how life can seem empty without it.

Peter Gerety (“Flight”) stars as Allery Parkes, an emotionally wounded man who is so lost when the plastics plant where he works closes. He decides to keep going to work there, just as if the plant was still open. He picks a lock and gets inside, where he cleans up the machines, and the floor. He breaks for lunch, just as he always did, Carrying on as if he is still being employed.

His neighbors are mystified by his behavior. One of his neighbors, Walter Brewer (played by Billy Brown of “Race to Witch Mountain”) inspired by Parkes' persistence, figures out a way to get the electricity back on in the plant. He persuades other laid off workers to come back to work, telling them, there is enough raw material, to produce a lot of products. He tells them he has found willing customers for the products, and that the owers can be persuaded to reopen the plant.

It all seems plausible enough, and the unemployed workers are desperate enough, that a number of them come back to work at the plant, trying to meet the month's orders. The plant's owners find out about the activity and try to put an end to it, but the workers and their families, under the leadership of Parkes and Brewer, decide to occupy the plant, refusing to leave.

Parkes, a quiet man, largely ignored by everyone, suddenly is thrust into the role of leadership. As the conflict between the workers and the owners becomes more intense, both he and Brewer are forced to confront their own inner demons, and their dark secrets from the past.

This is a movie that has some surprising twists. Just when you think you know where the story is going, it takes a sharp turn in a different direction. It explores the whole idea of the identity of workers becomes wrapped up in their jobs. It also explores the damage done when workers are faced with the closing of a plant that was the main employer in town. What will they do in the future? Will they be able to find new jobs that pay enough to support their families?

This movie also explores the ways in which neighborhoods, and places of employment provide spaces and faces that are like families. It explores the ways in which vast global economic forces and politics have unintended consequences in places far away from the centers of power.

Most of all, however, this movie is about the emotional journeys of Parkes and Brewer, who become friends in the crucible of the conflict they themselves have initiated with the powers that be. In this conflict, Parkes finds an inner strength that he didn't think he had. He needs that strength to confront the truth and find a way forward for himself, Brewer and all of their friends and neighbors.

The acting is superb by Peter Gerety and Billy Brown, along with Talia Shire (of the “Rocky” movies) as Iola Parkes, Peter's wife. Writer-director Robert Jury does a great job with the setup of this movie, gradually revealing the secrets that power the movie's plot twists. It is not quite as believable and hard-edged as it might have been, but it is quite compelling and entertaining. This movie rates a B+.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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