The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne

The cruelty and absurdity of family bonds drive this riveting crime saga from Currie (The One-Eyed Man). Babs Dionne, the domineering French American matriarch of her Waterville, Maine, community, maintains a sprawling criminal empire through sheer force of will. After surviving a near-fatal overdose, Babs’s oldest daughter, Lori—a military veteran grappling with PTSD—is tasked with finding her missing sister, Sis. Meanwhile, tensions escalate after Babs discovers that her grandson Jason has a black eye inflicted by his alcoholic father, and some of her formerly loyal lieutenants begin to challenge her authority. Complicating matters, a drug kingpin uncovers an aberration in his supply chain and sends a malevolent enforcer known as “The Man” to New England to investigate. When Sis turns up dead, grief and guilt ignite Bab’s fury, setting in motion a bloody revenge campaign that spares no one in town. Filled with idiosyncratic characters, Currie’s stirring, cinematic tale blends mystery, suspense, and domestic drama to incisively interrogate the limits of filial responsibility. It’s a major achievement. Agent: Simon Lipskar, Writers House. (Mar.)