A murder mystery based in Oklahoma starring Matt Damon. Sounds curious. Directed by Tom McCarthy, an Academy Award-winning director, Stillwater is an American crime thriller film that was released on July 30th, 2021. The movie is available on Prime Videos for streaming purposes.
Stillwater has famous actor Matt Damon who we know from movies like The Martian and Good Will Hunting, as its main lead, Bill Baker, father of his daughter Allison Baker, played by Abigail Breslin. The actress is known for her roles in Zombieland, Zombieland: Double Tap, the book-turned-movie, My Sister’s Keeper, and many more.
Camille Cottin played the role of a single mother, Virginie, and Lilou Siauvaud, the thirteen-year-old actress, was cast as Camille Cottin’s character’s daughter, Maya. Idir Azougli plays the role of a guy named Akim. The cast of the movie is full of great supporting actors who add immensely to the movie.
The plot of the movie is based on a murder that Bill’s daughter gets caught up in but claims to have not committed and how Bill goes all the way from Oklahoma to France to investigate the said murder and prove his daughter’s innocence.
The story is said to have taken some inspiration from a real-life murder that took place in Italy in 2007. The release of the Stillwater re-ignited the doubts people had over the investigation of Amanda Knox, the girl whose roommate was murdered.
Stillwater Storyline
The movie starts by introducing Matt Damon’s character and the kind of life he is living in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Bill Baker is a guy who does all sorts of odd labor jobs to survive. Bill’s daughter, Allison, has been in prison in France, for the murder of her roommate, Lina, for about four years, and Bill has not visited her once.
Bill’s mother-in-law, Sharon, has been visiting Allison and relaying news of her well-being to Bill till now. But four years later, she finally manages to convince Bill to visit her in Marseille, France. He agrees to meet her, and the scene moves to the first meeting of father and daughter after four long years.
The conversation is awkward and uncomfortable, to say the least. With no contact for the past four years and having a daughter convicted of murder, it is very clear that their relationship is a bit dented. It is in this conversation that Allison requests her father to pass on a letter she has written to her lawyer, Leparq.
The contents of the letter talk about a professor, Patrick Okonedo, and him talking about a guy called Akim. It mentions Akims history of having stabbed a girl to death prior to Lina’s murder. Both the professor and Allison suspect Akim of Lina’s murder.
The lawyer, Leparq, upon receiving and reading the letter, refuses to believe the story due to the lack of evidence and also refuses to file a request to reopen the case investigation. Allison seems to have a lot of trust in her lawyer and, thus, remains hopeful.
Bill does not tell his daughter that her letter was discarded without a second thought and does not want to disappoint Allison. So, he tells her that her lawyer has agreed to follow through with her request. The hotel where Bill is staying is where he ends up bumping into a woman called Virginie and her young daughter, Maya.
Bill requests Virginie to explain to him the contents of the letter, as it was written in french. Bill finally has an understanding of the letter, and it is at that time he finds out about Akim, the guy Allison suspects, and how helpless she feels knowing her own father does not believe her.
Bill decides to go after the Akim guy himself and bring justice to his daughter’s name. He makes a visit to the professor who was mentioned in the letter and, from there, continues his search for Akim. Virginie has also agreed to help Bill earn back his daughter’s trust.
Both Bill and Virginie meet up with another girl who claims that the real murderer is, after all, Akim. After confirming Allison’s theory, they set up their own investigation and filtered through all social media to narrow down to the guy they thought Akim could be. On finally getting a face, Bill goes to see Allison to confirm if the guy they suspect is Akim or not.
Allison tells them that he is, and Bill sets out after him. He manages to find him quickly enough but loses him just that fast. Bill comes out clean to Allison with him lying about the lawyer, Leparq’s situation, and the fact that he may have alerted Akim that somebody was after him. Allison is angry at her father for ruining probably her only chance at getting justice.
The story skips to four months later. Bill is still in France doing labor jobs and trying to reconnect with his daughter after the fallout they had during his last visit to the prison. He gets news of Allison trying to commit suicide. Bill tries even harder to get closer to his daughter after this incident. Bill and Virginie also seem to be getting close to each other.
Sometime later, Bill spots Akim at a game venue, and he follows him back to his truck, making sure he does not let him go this time. He captures and brings Akim to the basement of the building where he lives with Virginie. Maya, Virginie’s daughter, finds out about this and is requested to keep it a secret from her.
Bill gets a DNA test done, with the help of an ex-police officer, to get a possible connection between Akim’s hair and the crime scene evidence. Suspicions arise as the ex-police officer thinks that Akim may be trapped in Bill’s basement. The police get involved and Bill gets detained. The entire building is searched, but there is no trace of Akim.
The police question both Virginie and Maya but it all results in nothing. Virginie gets rightfully upset at Bill for putting her daughter in the way of danger and asks Bill to empty the room he has been renting immediately. Bill complies and moves after saying a heartfelt goodbye to Maya.
Bill starts living at the hotel once again. Leparq, Allison’s lawyer, finds Bill and tells him that the evidence collected through the DNA test result is enough to prove Allison’s innocence. Bill and Allison are shown returning to Stillwater, Oklahoma, where Allison confesses that she had hired Akim to get her roommate evicted from her room as the two had broken up.
Akim had apparently misunderstood Allison’s words and thought she wanted her killed, and that is what ended up happening. The movie ends with this confession, and her talking about Stillwater is still the same as it was when she had left it years ago, whereas it looked so different to Bill, who had been away only for a few months.
Stillwater Review
Stillwater is a film directed by award-winning director Tom McCarthy, and it stars Matt Damon as its lead. There is no way one would expect any less from a combination of the two. The film feels real and raw and has constant subtle commentary on how the world perceives Americans.
The film is put under the crime thriller genre, but it’s not quite like the average crime movie with flashing lights, confusing music, and a fast-paced story. The story is set mostly in Marseille, France, with parts of it in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Matt Damon, as Bill is a real actor, gets to represent an average American dad. Bill Baker is a guy with no connections and no money, with the last of his family stuck in prison for murder. As normal, he looks on the outside with his buffed-up body and overgrown goatee. He has his insecurities hidden deep under.
With his daughter in jail, Bill questions his parenting and feels like he has failed at it big time. He works odd manual jobs that add to his vulnerabilities. Matt Damon has managed to put up a very natural traditional-religious-man front over the agonies Bill suffers from.
He is a fifty-something man with barely any relationship with his daughter. And when he finally gets to see her, we realize that he probably has been desperately waiting for a chance to mend things with her. Bill’s relationship with Maya, Virginie’s daughter, and the way it organically develops throughout the movie is like a second chance for Bill to finally be a good dad.
The movie has a supporting cast full of many actors, but Matt Damon has surely led the entire show on his own. The way he goes from being a stoic manly man who is as alone as one can get to a guy who lets down the walls around his heart to let two strangers in, to finally becoming the father who stands up for his child and fights for them and back to losing some very important people of his life.
His character has a journey, and so does the audience. He is so real at expressing what he is feeling in the moment, which adds to the rawness of the film. The only problem that can be pointed out for Damon’s character is that though it has its own struggles, the character seems to lack a personality. He has a stiff expression and a tight walk throughout, but no real characteristics can define him.
The movie was controversial for being based on a real-life murder case that took place in Italy back in 2007. Though these accusations were denied as the movie is not based on but only slightly inspired by the case. The movie surely feels less about the murder and more about the father trying to help his daughter, all the while feeling utterly helpless.
The story is told from a father’s perspective, so it would be right not to expect any cool action shots or chase scenes. Stillwater is slow and feels much like the calm before the storm, only that the storm never comes. There is something so still about Damon’s character it is almost suffocating.
The character written for Matt Damon is the complete opposite of what the audience would expect out of an American hero. Bill is different, he may have his guns in a drawer in his cabin, but he does not believe in shooting them the first moment he gets them. He is a guy of rational thought and is religious too.
The entire movie makes sure that Bill is always shown as the opposite of the American dream hero. He is in a foreign land, with no clue whatsoever about what the people are saying, it seems like his first time abroad, and he could not look more lost. There are clear cultural differences throughout, shown subtly in the movie.
His character is trying to get his daughter out of prison, but does it mean that he continues to be motivated by that? The answer is no. Where people would expect him to just rush to France and save the day, Bill suffers majorly in doing so, which is frustrating not only for the audience but also him.
Bill gets a second chance at life when he decides to stay in France a bit longer for his daughter. He ends up finding himself once again in a family setting with Virginie and her daughter, Maya. This phase of his life brings a change in him, making him warmer and softer.
This is soon taken away from him, but instead of going back to his cold and distant ways, he maintains this vulnerable self and eventually gets a third chance at life. This is when he gets his actual daughter back, and they move back to Stillwater. He experiences a huge sense of loss, and the absence of Virginie and Maya is too big for him, and Matt Damon conveys that well during the end.
The film, still being a murder mystery, has a minor twist in the end, though it may not feel very impactful to some. It feels more like a father’s journey of life over the course of almost a year than a father trying to solve a murder case. The mystery behind the murder of Allison’s roommate gets resolved within the last few moments of the film, and not a lot of time is spent exploring the minute details of the murder.
Our Verdict
If you are someone who prefers crime thrillers that have a bit of drama, a tinge of romance, and main leads going through an existential crisis in the middle of a foreign country, then Stillwater may be your cup of tea. With its beautiful local locations and slow-paced emotional vibe, the movie makes for a perfect quick weekend watch.
Our Rating: ⭐ (3.5/5).
Also Read: 39 Crime Genre Movies That Are Based On Actual Crimes!
