This movie hit theaters in 2017. Shot Caller is a crime drama with thriller elements. The premiere took place in Los Angeles during the film festival.
The plot of this film is multifaceted, it has many interesting events, thanks to which the evolution of the protagonist can be traced. Jacob Garlon’s family lives a measured life: he, his wife Katherine and son Joshua are in California. But only one incident changes everything: Jacob accidentally drives through a red light. An accident occurs and his best friend Tom dies. Jacob is charged with murder and sentenced to 16 months in prison. He is sent to a colony for men, where he learns all the “charms” of prison life.
After that, he decides to defend his innocence by all means with the help of a lawyer. In prison, he attacks a provocateur, but Jacob is protected by Four-Eyed, the leader of the white gang PEN1. He invites the prisoner to become a member of their gang, distribute heroin and kill anyone who is plotting something against their group.
Garlon is changing a lot – he even gets tattoos dedicated to the gang. He gets his prison sentence extended for another nine years because he kills another inmate to save Gomez’s life. And he does not communicate with his wife and son. Because of this, Katherine files for divorce.
After seven years, he is released – life begins outside the prison. Garlon kills many who are objectionable to his gang. Soon he again goes to prison for life, without the right to parole. There he kills the Beast, and becomes his deputy. Garlon is now at the top of the prison hierarchy. By taking the life of the Beast, he ensured the safety of his family, as he threatened his wife and son. While serving his term to the end, Garlon receives a letter from his son, in which he writes about the forgiveness of his father. He also reports that he and his mother continue to live on without Jacob, but does not hold a grudge against him.
What is the point of this movie? Analyzing the evolution of the image of the main character, one can argue that every person is responsible for his actions throughout his life. There is a wonderful boomerang law – everything that you have done, good or bad, will definitely return twice. Therefore, Garlon constantly got into such situations, because of which he had to go to jail. But he killed people who threatened to kill his family – someone will think. Is it possible to protect the interests of relatives in more civilized ways? Such behavior has nothing superfluous with love and respect for relatives. However, if you look at this situation from the other side, then, changed by prison principles, Garlon had no idea how else to protect his beloved wife and son from threats from the criminal world and its representatives. He acted against criminal authorities by their own methods – he killed, shot, if only they did not get to his relatives.
You can also argue that any person needs to adapt to emerging circumstances if he wants to survive in this world. So did Garlon – he began to play by the rules of the heads of the prison hierarchy. Consequently, he had enemies who did not like his behavior. It happens to every person – if his interests run counter to the interests of other people, conflicts occur. Depending on the circumstances of life and the nature of the opposing sides, these conflicts can gain different speeds. It is important to learn how to solve them so that there are no victims.
The meaning of the film’s ending is that Garlon again stumbled upon a long-forgotten subtle connection with his family. His son wrote him a letter stating that he forgives his father for not being by his side, but for being in prison because of his rash actions. It clearly shows the age-old problem of the relationship between parents and children. Sometimes our children are wiser than we are. Joshua was just that – he did not hold any grudges against his father and happily informed him about how his life with his mother was going. This is a very cruel lesson for Garlon – the son does not renounce him, he is always ready to accept his father and communicate with him as before. But Garlon himself is to blame for the fact that he does not have the opportunity to be close to his family.
In order for such situations not to arise in the life of any person, you need to try to control your actions and thoughts, because a boomerang may fly in, and it may not be the most pleasant.
