Wayne Kramer hasn’t really followed up on the promise suggested by his debut “The Cooler;” an enjoyable, well-acted, if tonally uneven, crime thriller. There’s a few pulpy pleasures to be found in follow-up “Running Scared,” but not many, while would-be “Traffic” knock-off “Crossing Over” died a quick death.
The South African helmer was briefly discussed as a potential director of video game adaptation “Kane & Lynch” not so long ago, but he’s now signed his name to his next project: he’ll direct the period gangster movie “Pretty Boy Floyd” for Myriad Pictures. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Charles Arthur ‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd was a real-life bank robber in the Midwest in the 20s and 30s, and was portrayed, in the briefest of cameos, by Channing Tatum, getting shot in the back by Christian Bale in Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies” (Mann clearly having worked out that the best way to utilize Tatum is to cut him almost entirely from the movie; if only the same approach had been taken on “Dear John”).
It seems like Kramer’s a fan of that Mann film; he tells Risky Business that “My approach is to bring 21st century style and energy to Kevin Bernhardt’s meticulously researched screenplay without sacrificing the verisimilitude of the period or over-sensationalizing the characters themselves. At the heart of “Pretty Boy Floyd” is a great love story about an outlaw on the run who can’t stay away from the woman he loves, no matter how destructive the relationship is for both of them — which ultimately leads to his demise.” Now, correct us if we’re wrong, but we seem to remember a movie matching that exact description being released around this time last year…