Despite great performances from leads Alfie Allen and Brett Gelman, McVeigh feels like the worst kind of exploitation.
PLOT: A haunting psychological thriller based on one of America’s most infamous figures. After the Waco siege, a chilling plan brews in the mind of army veteran Timothy McVeigh. What follows are the harrowing events leading up to the single deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.
REVIEW: Anyone around in the 90’s likely remembers the name Timothy McVeigh. And if you don’t, chances are the words “Oklahoma City Bomber” ring a bell at least. Serving as the deadliest act of homegrown terrorism in US History, the bombings were an absolutely tragic loss of life. Now, McVeigh looks to shed light on the motivations of the two bombers: Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh.
McVeigh is a slow-burn story that follows Timothy as he gets radicalized after the WACO shootings. He viewed himself as a constitutionalist and felt the government was fascist, not following the Declaration of Independence as intended. They introduce a love interest, Cindy (played by Ashley Benson), and it all just feels uncomfortable. I get, that they want to humanize the man, but doing so with a person that doesn’t even exist in reality feels like a fabrication meant to invoke sympathy. Why not use the actual reality of what happened versus constructing a manufactured romance? Instead, I’m just left wondering why the hell I’m supposed to care about a meet-cute moment for this incel.
Don’t get me wrong, Alfie Allen delivers an incredible performance. He’s determined yet awkward and his delivery is purposefully understated. He really loses himself in the role and he should really be commended for entering such a dark space. But it’s hard to relate to McVeigh in those quiet moments which is the opposite of the desired intention. The film’s purpose seems to be to show that “anyone can be radicalized” but if anything, it shows what happened here was anything but random. He had terrible influences around him and he’s shown as a very lonely man looking for purpose.
Brett Gelman brings a little bit of personality to the film as Terry Nichols, the man who helped Timothy make his bombs. Gelman’s performance is high frequency, with it clear he thinks he’s operating on a higher level than others. It’s something that he and McVeigh really bond over, with their distrust of the government. As much as Timothy takes center stage, these events couldn’t have happened without Terry’s involvement so he’s just as much to blame. Anthony Carrigan also shows up in a small role, but he’s sadly underutilized.
This film was in development for over half a decade, so it’s clear that director Mike Ott had a vision for this. And he approaches some of the more difficult events with class. He really has you sit and bask in those darker moments. I’m just not sure that the subject warranted this level of examination. When the credits rolled, I was just left feeling like I needed to take a shower. It ultimately feels pointless and there were plenty of better ways to show right-wing extremism, with more modern examples.
McVeigh is an uncomfortable watch but not in a challenging way, more in a “why are we giving this guy even an ounce of empathy?” way. It’s hard to care about his relationships that don’t work out or the reasons why he felt bombing a federal building was necessary. He’s already inherently one of the most disliked people in US history. If anything, I was just hoping this would be one of those alternate-reality movies where some good Samaritan steps in and stops this asshole (I’m half-joking). Because I felt no empathy for the man who killed 168 people and injured 684 others. This felt misguided and unnecessary.
MCVEIGH IS AVAILABLE IN THEATERS, ON DIGITAL AND ON DEMAND ON MARCH 21ST, 2025.
