“The Deputy” follows rookie deputy Toby Sawyer, who launches a frantic search after a guarded corpse vanishes. In the process, he unearths decades of small-town rot and buried secrets. It’s based on the 2010 novel of the same name by Victor Gischler.
Toby is instantly made to be an untrustworthy character for a variety of reasons. Not only is he stone-cold asleep at 6 p.m. with his wife and child in the other room, but he also leaves the house for official police duty in a raggedy shirt and pajama pants. During said duties, he then sneaks off for a hookup. With all of this happening before the 10-minute mark, it’s extremely easy for viewers to point fingers directly at him when the premise kicks into gear.
After establishing his lack of initiative, Carlo Bernard’s screenplay puts the character in situations that grow from simply strange to downright life-threatening. In the process, these escalating series of events give Toby a purpose that he previously didn’t have. It’s a character arc that has been executed similarly countless times before, but it remains effective here thanks to director Matt Sukkar’s commitment to showing him at his low point.
“I’m the deputy.”
His inexperience also adds comedy. It’s easy to say that Toby goes about everything the wrong way while attempting to solve the mystery. As he acts nervously in key situations, you can’t help but laugh despite the very real blood being shed. Because of this, “The Deputy” is able to transition between humorous and tension-riddled scenes of violence within a matter of seconds. The film also contains small bursts of action. This includes hand-to-hand fighting, gunfire and car crashes — mostly remaining brief rather than drawn-out. Despite their short-lived nature, these sequences add thrills to a story that is typically more focused on dramatics.
The script does have shortcomings, most notably being the “disappearing characters” trope. As certain individuals vanish throughout large segments of the 98-minute runtime, the eventual reveals grow clear. This diminishes almost all of the surprise factor that it aims to have in the final act.
Outside of being a traditional crime-thriller, a key theme in “The Deputy” is immigration. It’s not an inherently political film, but it does take a stance by questioning who the real “criminals” may be. It tackles the subject in the same way as another 2026 movie, “Broken Land” — not everything is always as clear-cut as it seems. When real-life context is involved, corruption can go in many different directions.
Director of photography Alejandro Mejía takes a dual approach to the visuals. As characters engage in dialogue, the camera remains in a fixed position outside of subtle movements. This changes once the action begins, with rotating and sweeping motions implemented to accentuate the increased stakes. This approach is echoed in Daniel Vildósola’s score. The musical compositions are relegated to basic guitar strums until additional sounds are incorporated in key moments.
Duke Nicholson (Toby) portrays a lazy, unsteady persona well. Most of his delivery is monotone, but it doesn’t detract from the character; it actually fits the mold for who Toby is as a person. Nicholson is the only actor who maintains a consistent presence from start to finish, largely putting the film on his shoulders. When seeing Tiffany Haddish’s (Amanda) name, most people probably assume that it’s a comedic role. In “The Deputy,” it’s different, staying largely serious outside of quick quips. Also appearing are William H. Macy (Sheriff Krueger), Stephen Dorff (Billy), Devon Ross (Molly), Billie Lourd (Doris) and Julia Fox (Cashier Girl).
“The Deputy” navigates a messy world with an even messier character. While the conclusion is entirely predictable, the journey to get there is layered and entertaining.
Rating: 3 out of 5
