The new film from Tanya Wexler, Buffaloed, draws parallels to films like The Wolf Of Wall Street, and The Big Short, but it’s far less sprawling in scope than those films, taking a more personal approach to exploring its lead character, and the economic vulnerabilities that they exploit to make their money. It also reverses the usual trajectory you would see in similar stories where its lead will start from a place of earnestness and slowly devolve into moral debauchery. Here our lead starts off as a hustler and slowly tries to set herself straight, almost despite all her impulses telling her otherwise.
The film, written by Brian Sacca, follows Peg Dahl (Zoey Deutch), a motivated young woman devoted to financial independence after growing up in an impoverished family in the city of Buffalo, New York. After a stint in prison, she comes to learn about the seedy world of debt collecting and finds herself under the wing of Wizz (Jai Courtney), the sleazy head of the biggest debt collecting agency in town. But when circumstances lead her to take charge and start her own firm, one that is meant to utilize relatively less shady techniques to collect debt, a war between the two firms ensue.
The film itself is quite good, but what pushes it over into greatness is the incredibly charismatic performance by Zoey Deutch. I’ve been a fan of hers for a long time, and it seems like for as talented as she is, her talents have largely been underutilized in the mainstream with mostly supporting roles like the love interest in Why Him? or the walking blonde joke in the recent Zombieland: Double Tap. It’s usually in smaller films like Set It Up, Before I Fall, and Flower where she really gets to shine. Even in films that are not particularly good, she has always been consistently great, and the same goes for her turn here in Buffaloed, which might just be one of her very best.
Peg is a character that certainly leans into the snarky fast-talker persona that Deutch has perfected over the years, but what sets this one apart is the moral grey area that the character resides in. While Peg is trying to do things the right way, she still has these darker impulses that often drive her towards directions that she’ll ultimately regret. It’s all rooted in her desire to get away from the kind of life she lived growing up, a feeling I’m sure many can relate to. However, Buffaloed touches on the one thing that films like Wolf Of Wall Street and The Big Short don’t take the time to explore, and that is the real life consequences of the working class families who are directly affected by the actions of greedy financial institutions. You actually see how, despite Peg technically approaching her debt collecting business from totally clean standpoint, she still puts herself in a position that can result in people’s livelihoods being destroyed.
But the film isn’t all serious business. Like those films I mentioned, Buffaloes is littered with humor through banter, trash talk, and so many Buffalo related in-jokes, I have to believe Sacca has to be from the city. This film does to the word “jagoff” what Fargo did to “aw jeez.” It’s a consistently amusing affair, and occasionally downright hilarious, especially in the interplay between some of the characters. The actors all get moments to shine. Judy Greer plays Peg’s mother, who is as warm and she is sharp. Jai Courtney further digging into his inner-character actor like he did with Suicide Squad is doing him so much good, I can watch him play lively dirtbags like this forever. And Noah Reid does a good job at emotionally grounding the proceedings as Peg’s brother, JJ.
If the film stumbles, it’s only with a few minor elements. Jermaine Fowler plays a lawyer who initially got Peg into prison, but comes back as a love interest, and the way the film handles his character comes off a touch clumsy, but Fowler does a good job in making his character’s relationship with Peg believable enough. The couple of fourth-wall breaks are jarring, since they aren’t used often enough to establish a clear visual language throughout the film. And of course, there are times in the film where you almost can’t help but be reminded of the kind of films that are being drawn from as influences. However, Wexler smartly keeps things moving at a fast enough clip, and more importantly, she never loses sight of where the heart of the film lies.
Any issues I may have had with Buffaloed ultimately didn’t effect the overall experience with the film. It’s an exhilarating ride that centers itself on a fascinating and effortlessly compelling character in Peg Dahl, who’s choices you will certainly not agree with often, but you at least understand why she does the things she does. Zoey Deutch tackles the complexity of her character with a fearlessness that adds so much energy and vibrancy to the film. She digs into all the flaws, and finds the humanity within the character to speak on greater truths about the way certain institutions prey on the vulnerable. Sure, the messaging and structure is largely familiar, but it remains timely nonetheless, and the filmmakers knows how to present their ideas in a way that is still very entertaining. It’s easy for a small film like Buaffloed to fall under your radar, but it’s one I would encourage you to seek out.