American Rust
released 2024
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“American Rust” is an American, crime, drama mini series produced by Dan Futterman, Jeff Daniels, Michael De Luca, Katie O’Connell, Adam Rapp, Alvaro Rodriguez, Elisa Ellis, Jessica Brickman, David Fortier, Lee Shipman, Brian McGreevy, Paul J. Martino, Ivan Schneeberg, Nick Nantell, Jim McKay, Ted Malawer and many more. It was directed by John Dahl, Jim McKay, Darnell Martin, Craig Zisk, Radium Cheung, Melissa Hickey, Michael Lehmann and written by Dan Futterman, Philip Meyer, Miranda Rose Hall, Jean Kyoung Frazier, Maya Perez, Adam Rapp, Alvaro Rodriguez, Jaquen Castellanos, Jessica Brickman, Ted Malawer, Celine C. Robinson, Charly Evon Simpson and Delondra Mesa. It stars Jeff Daniels, Maura Tierney, David Alvarez, Julia Mayorga, Alex Neustaedter, Mark Pellegrino, Rob Yang, Kyle Beltran, Luna Lauren Velez, Emily Davis, Britain Seibert, Namir Smallwood, Caitlin Cavannaugh, Bill Camp, Christopher Denham, Jon Collin Barclay, Zenzi Williams, Brett Newton, Leon Addison Brown, Amelia Workman, Lisa Velten Smith and many more great talent.

American Rust IMDb webpage

“American Rust” is the story of chief of police Del Harris, played by Jeff Daniels, in a small Pennsylvania town near the border of West Virginia in an area of America called the “Rust Belt”. It is an economically depressed area with so many of the problems of other small town. People in this small town live more modest lives than in other parts of the country and struggle supporting themselves, finding housing and employment. The villains in this story are unemployment, poverty and stupid people. Chief of police Del finds himself protecting the son of the woman he loves named Billy Poe, played by Alex Neustaedter. The woman is Grace Poe, played by Maura Tierney. Alex is a good person who finds himself sucked into a bad situation and ends up in a struggle for his very future. Without the help of Del the young Alex would probably end up a casualty of the US criminal justice system. Del knows this better than anyone else and so does his best to protect Alex and steer the investigation in such a direction so as to save Alex’s life.

This story has so many good elements that make it a gem. The first element I really liked was the portrayal of this small town in Pennsylvania. So, much of the stories on the screen today do not show this side of America. These areas of the country often deal with poverty, crime and hardship in ways the other more affluent parts of our country do not. For example, a brush with the law in the more affluent areas of the US might result in a trip to the expensive lawyer’s office or even community service while in the poorer parts of the US a brush with the law might mean incarceration, dehumanization and being forced into a life of crime or addiction since so many people who have endured incarceration end up with serious trauma from dehumanization. So, a brush with the law in a poorer part of the country or poorer neighborhood in the US might mean that you lose your future. We see Grace struggle to stay in her home and succeeds with the help of Del and her shady ex-boyfriend Virgil Poe, played by Mark Pellegrino. The problems these communities face are very real and much more intense than in so many other stories with depictions of life in the US. The realism is not watered down.

Another aspect I loved about this story is the theme of the seasoned sheriff or Chief of Police in this case making decisions and taking actions that they would not normally make to keep the US justice system from swallowing up a good person and robbing them of their future. You can tell by his demeanor that he has seen this before. He has seen the gears of the US justice grind good people down and that a good person can be in the wrong place at the wrong time and things can explode into tragedy. And that there often is no recourse for those people and that’s a shame. It is so heart wrenching when people deal with extreme injustice. A few things make him a good hero. One is his experience and how he knows this world and how to navigate it in order to help Alex. Two, is his sense of right and wrong and the fact that he has the best of intentions for Alex. And three is the fact that this good deed will help him in some way we do not fully know why yet. Del Harris is a man with secrets we want to discover. That is another draw. What makes Del tick? What from his past still haunts him in the present?

And let me also state the obvious. At the core of this story is the two love stories for Billy and Del. That is what this story is really about. It is the story’s beating heart so to speak. Whether it’s a fairy tale or Homer’s “Odyssey” it works. That is at the root of this story and it works so well.

Let me not forget to give credit where it is due. The talented people that worked on this project did such a good job and it shows. From the writing, the acting, sets and costumes and everything else I can’t even think of. What a great group of talented people. Jeff Daniels and Maura Tierney were fantastic.

So, check out “American Rust” if you’re a Maura Tierney or a Jeff Daniels fan or if you just want a good, suspenseful story. It’s worth the watch.

John Ink2Quill

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