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It's a big day in this typical Texan small town as Bubba's (Douglas
McGriffin) car dealership holds its tenth annual Hands On
endurance competition where twenty contestants have to keep one hand on a
shiny new truck, and whoever has their hand on the longest wins the car -
a competition that usually goes on for about 100 hours non-stop (safe of
course for the five minutes break each hour, and fifteen minutes every 6
hours). The event is framed by some half baked spectacle that includes
everything from live music to line dancing, a DJ night and a mechanical
bull, and is hosted by Bubba's most trusted employee, attractive Joan (Carrie
Preston), who has somehow lost her footing in reality with her
dating life going horribly wrong, while the competitors range from a bible
thumper (Lynne Ashe) believing God will help her to an ex-marine wanting
to prove his masculinity to a professional Hands On-contestant (Jessie C.
Boyd) who has his own cheats to win and everything in-between - including
local Kyle (Joe Cole) who could really use the truck to imrpove the life
of himself, his wife (Callie Hernandez) and their son. But between forced
sleep-deprivation, over-exhaustion and a constant game of alpha dog
instigated by some of the co-contestants, it's exactly Kyle who of all players breaks the
worst ... Starting out, One of These Days is
basically a film about another piece of obscure Americana, with some small
Southern town soap opera attached to it - and it's well-made at that as it
doesn't spell things out in full and leaves the reader to read etween the
lines and connect certain dots by oneself. However, th longer the film
goes the more tension builds as it veers into psycho-thriller territory
and ultimately to a totally unexpected finale - with the film's
post-finale coda shedding a whole different (and pretty chilling) light on
things. And a subtle yet atmospheric direction and a relatable cast help
making this a very unusual movie that's wel worth a watch.
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