paradise highway movie reviews

Paradise Highway

What bet did Juliette Binoche lose? I only ask because writer/director Anna Gutto ’s melodramatic thriller “Paradise Highway” is the kind wayward, tonally muddled project an actress the caliber of Binoche would only sign onto if promises were broken and payback was required. 

It’s difficult to know where to begin with the autopsy of “Paradise Highway.” Shall we discuss the cliché “One Way or Another” needle drop? How about the superfluousness of several character arcs? Or maybe how this movie takes a great interest in broken systems without sketching the humans at the center? Gutto’s film certainly doesn’t fail to remind viewers of its importance. But you spend the entirety of its languid, nearly two-hour run-time wondering when this serious narrative will find space to be good. 

As Sally, a big-rig trucker traversing America’s south, a miscast Binoche occupies our primary focus. Sally worries deeply about her troubled brother Dennis ( Frank Grillo ). Though he’s nearing parole, a few unknown factions within the prison thrash him. They demand his sister pickup and transport a package across state lines. Sally agrees, but gets more than she bargains for when she meets the two smugglers—Claire ( Christiane Seidel ) and Terrence ( Walker Babington )—only to discover the package is a young girl, Leila ( Hala Finley ), condemned to a sex trafficking ring. Sally’s plans go awry when Leila murders a man at the drop-off location, sending the pair on the run to figure out how to remedy the situation before darker underworld forces find them. 

Sometimes a movie fails because the director carries the worst intentions. What’s difficult to stomach is when a film falters despite a director’s best objectives. “Paradise Highway” falls in the latter category. Gutto wants this movie to serve as an indictment of a system. Traffickers get away with selling young women because the authorities simply do not care. To combat that reality, she teams a retired grump in Agent Gerick ( Morgan Freeman ) with a fresh, naive upstart Sterling ( Cameron Monaghan ) as two cops who do care. Through their dedicated eyes, Gutto interrogates the heinous punishment subjected on women by trafficking and the various, unfathomable ways the police perpetuate these crimes through inaction. Beyond that didactic intent, Gerick and Sterling serve very little purpose as they trace the country in Gerick’s station wagon looking for Sally and Leila. 

While Binoche is still a wonderful, affecting actress, hence my surprise to see her here, the recent downturn by Freeman defies understanding. Here, as Gerick, a shadow of his work as Captain Jack Doyle in “ Gone Baby Gone ,” he spends much of his time dropping f-bombs that are meant to serve as punchlines (maybe?). Even when Binoche and Freeman appear on screen together, the pairing isn’t enough to rouse the distinguished Freeman back to his former heights. 

If you squint you can nearly see the kind of movie Gutto might be aiming for. The opening scenes, for instance, feature Sally talking on a CB radio with other women truckers. She shares a caring, open relationship with them as they support one another on a road often occupied by sexist, predatory men. For a second, you think Gutto might expand this world. But she withholds. We don’t see these other women, for some unconscionable reason, until much, much later. 

That doesn’t mean the writer/director totally ignores women. In fact, every scene is composed around the women who occupy the different stratas of the trucking world: One mother begs outside of the outposts for money and food; another, a Black mother and son, are barely shown, except in a check-the-box-of-diversity fashion. And in others, we do peep some women grocery clerks at the rest stops and on the road, other women truckers too. The more successful attempts demonstrate how men big-riggers perpetuate sex trafficking. In one shot, Sally sees a line of young girls waiting to enter a man’s cabin. Oftentimes, “Paradise Highway” works best when gesturing to the inequities existing on the peripheries of Sally’s world, the ones even she’s chosen to ignore. These heady subjects could organically weave into a grittier milieu if only Gutto didn’t abandon the gloomier shades of this universe for an odd, homespun mother-daughter tale.

After a couple days on the road, Sally becomes a surrogate mom for Leila. To a girl trapped in the unforgivable world of trafficking, Sally’s existence represents freedom and connectivity to other women. While you never really believe a New Yorker like Grillo and a French actress such as Binoche as siblings, partly because neither of them drop their accents, you do buy the maternal relationship shared by Finley and Binoche. The picture would succeed just by focusing on this storyline; instead, Gutto opts to cram together three underwhelming narratives rather than living with one.

Even under trying circumstances, the craftsmanship intermittently pops through; cinematographer John Christian Rosenlund’s shadowy and sinister compositions attempt to instill some sense of tension. And almost none of the actors mail anything in, even when Gutto’s half-baked ending undermines them. But their best laid plans often go for naught, unfortunately, in this soporific thriller. 

Now playing in select theaters and available on digital platforms.

Robert Daniels

Robert Daniels is an Associate Editor at RogerEbert.com. Based in Chicago, he is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) and Critics Choice Association (CCA) and regularly contributes to the  New York Times ,  IndieWire , and  Screen Daily . He has covered film festivals ranging from Cannes to Sundance to Toronto. He has also written for the Criterion Collection, the  Los Angeles Times , and  Rolling Stone  about Black American pop culture and issues of representation.

• Juliette Binoche as Sally
• Frank Grillo as Dennis
• Morgan Freeman as Gerick
• Hala Finley as Leila
• Cameron Monaghan as Agente Speciale Finley Sterling
• Veronica Ferres as Rose
• Christiane Seidel as Claire
• Jackie Dallas as Deborah
• Anné Kulonen
• Christian Siebenherz

Cinematographer

• John Christian Rosenlund

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‘Paradise Highway’ Review: A Test of Loyalty

A truck driver’s brother asks her to deliver a girl to sex traffickers in order to save his life in prison.

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By Concepción de León

Growing up in a violent home, Sally (Juliette Binoche) only had one person to rely on: her brother, Dennis (Frank Grillo).

Years later, Dennis is in prison, and now depends on Sally, who is a truck driver. When Dennis tells Sally that she must carry illicit cargo or he’ll be harmed, she is determined to come through, even after she finds out that the “package” she’s meant to deliver is a girl named Leila (Hala Finley).

“Paradise Highway,” written and directed by Anna Gutto (“A Light Above”), follows Sally and Leila as they run from both the benevolent F.B.I. agents, played by Morgan Freeman and Cameron Monaghan, and the sex traffickers looking to recover Leila. They are kept company only by a shotgun and the radio that connects Sally to a network of other women truck drivers. Their camaraderie and Finley’s performance as the troubled Leila are highlights in a film that otherwise does not quite hit its stride.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Binoche is not believable as a working-class American truck driver, and her lingering French accent seems out of place in that world. In addition, the vague danger to her brother is difficult to accept as enough motivation for her to participate in such a heinous crime.

Though it is refreshing to see members of law enforcement focused on recovering and supporting a victim rather than pursuing her abusers, it does not allow for much narrative tension. If only the film had taken a broader view, filling in more details about the lives and motivations of the truck drivers as well as the sex traffickers.

Paradise Highway Rated R for language and some violence. Running time: 1 hour 55 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on Apple TV , Vudu and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators.

Concepción de León is a writer and book editor based in New York. More about Concepción de León

‘Paradise Highway’ Review: Juliette Binoche and Newcomer Hala Finley Are On the Road and On the Run In a Solidly Crafted Thriller

First-time feature filmmaker Anna Gutto impresses while putting pedal to the metal through familiar territory.

By Joe Leydon

Film Critic

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For those of you who have always wanted to see Juliette Binoche play a foul-mouthed truck driver — and you know who you are — “ Paradise Highway ” delivers the goods, and then some. This counterintuitive casting is actually just one of the selling points for writer-director Anna Gutto ’s solid and satisfying thriller, a shrewdly constructed melodrama that does not transcend cliches and conventions so much as show how useful and effective they can be in the right hands.

Offering a précis of the plot could arguably do the movie a disservice, since the narrative pivots on human trafficking — specifically, the trafficking of prepubescent girls. It’s a subject that often brings out the excessive worst in even the most well-intentioned directors, and more often elicits an understandable “thanks, but no thanks” response from many potential viewers. Throughout “Paradise Highway,” however, Gutto demonstrates welcome restraint and a meticulous avoidance of anything that resembles exploitation, relying on indirect yet impactful allusions to keep us constantly aware of the mortal stakes involved. All in all, this is a singularly promising debut for a first-time feature filmmaker.

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Sally (Binoche), a trucker who hauls freight across the Southeast, gets involved in evil inadvertently, if not accidentally. True, she regularly carries satchels of contraband in the cab of her rig, but only to guarantee the safety of her criminally inclined brother Dennis (an aptly ambiguous Frank Grillo), who is subject to brutal beatdowns by fellow prison inmates if she doesn’t play along. The siblings are co-dependent survivors of an abusive childhood, which makes their bond all the stronger. In fact, except for Dennis, Sally is a loner with no apparent human connections other than other female long-haulers with whom she joshes on her CB radio.

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Days before Dennis’ release, Sally agrees to what she assumes will be one last transport of illicit cargo. At first, she strongly objects when told the job will entail taking a little girl, Leila (Hala Finley), across state lines to be used and abused. But when she’s reminded of what might happen to Dennis if she doesn’t comply — well, Sally does her best to keep Leila at arm’s length emotionally until the delivery is made. Things change at the drop-off point, however, when Leila grabs the shotgun Sally keeps in the cab for protection and blasts the creep who’s ready to take delivery. After that, survival instincts, not maternal feelings, kick in. “You may have shot him,” Sally angrily snaps at Leila as she puts pedal to the metal, “but I left him there to die.”

You might think that it’s only a matter of time before the hard-bitten trucker and the resourceful yet frightened little girl recognize what they have in common — industrial-grade emotional scars, for starters — and start to trust each other while on the lam. And, of course, you would be correct in making that assumption. But the thawing of hearts and the lowering of guards take a bit longer in “Paradise Highway” than is common in movies built around such initially contentious relationships. Not only does that enhance the credibility of the plot; it also gives the well-cast leads time to bring out the best in each other, as the young newcomer rises to the level of the Oscar-winning veteran’s game.

Meanwhile, Sally and Leila are pursued by representatives of the traffickers, who craftily employ subcontractors during an especially suspenseful truck stop sequence, and Gerick (Morgan Freeman), a former FBI agent who now works as a “consultant” for the Bureau, thereby allowing him to break even more rules than he did as a federal employee while hunting flesh peddlers. Gerick is partnered, whether he wants to be or not, with a novice special agent, Sterling (Cameron Monaghan), who does everything by the book until he learns better under Gerick’s tutelage. Both of these characters are fairly shameless stereotypes, but the actors play them convincingly — Gerick’s penchant for obscenity likely would be quite tiresome if anyone other than Freeman were launching the F-bombs — and their reactions to evidence of child exploitation help bring a sense of gravity to the proceedings.

Credit DP John Christian Rosenlund for vividly conveying everything from the vaguely menacing look of a neon-lit truck stop late at night to the sense of boundless freedom during daytime drives through naturally beautiful locales. The clever choices of pop tunes on the soundtrack is a plus — note the neat balance of Blondie’s original “One Way or Another” and a dreamier cover by composer Anné Kulonen and Philip Kay — and the sisterhood-is-powerful twist to the third-act resolution is an inspired payoff to elements planted in the opening scene. Speaking of which, that opening scene is where the film attempts to justify Binoche’s accent. You see, she’s from Canada. Hey, whatever works.

Reviewed online, July 25, 2022. MPA Rating: R. Running time: 115 MIN.

• Production: A Lionsgate release of a Grindstone Entertainment Group, Silver Reel presentation in association with Southland Equities, Eyevox Entertainment of a Silver Reel, Strike Accord production in association with ZDF, Praesens-Film. (World sales: Lionsgate, Los Angeles.) Producers: Claudia Bluemhuber, Georgia Bayliff, Michael Leahy, Anna Gutto. Executive producers: Barry Brooker, Stan Wertlieb, Gary Leff, Doris Schrenner, Dorothea Sick-Thies, John Christian Rosenlund, Veronica Ferres, Alexander Jooss, Florian Dargel, Silke Wilfinger, René Besson, David Gendron, Ali Jazayeri.
• Crew: Director, writer: Anna Gutto. Camera: John Christian Rosenlund. Editor: Christian Siebenherz. Music: Anné Kulonen.
• With: Juliette Binoche, Frank Grillo, Hala Finley, Cameron Monaghan, Veronica Ferres, Christiane Seidel, Morgan Freeman.

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Paradise Highway Review: An Incredible Thriller Has Morgan Freeman Tracking Juliette Binoche

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Paradise Highway is a hell of a debut feature film for a writer/director. Anna Gutto distilled years of research into an incredibly unique script and then created a very entertaining movie, featuring acting powerhouses like Morgan Freeman , Juliette Binoche , Frank Grillo, and Cameron Monaghan, which tackles a very important subject. If a filmmaker's first major work is their calling card, then Gutto's phone will likely be ringing off the hook.

One of those rare films that's exciting, fun, and filled with suspense without being part of a franchise or relying on some gimmick, Paradise Highway is a gem that proves how refreshing it is to see original ideas onscreen. The movie follows the tough, terse female trucker Sally (Binoche) on the week that her beloved brother Dennis (Grillo) is set to be released from prison . Throughout his prison sentence, the siblings have coordinated different smuggling operations, using Sally's cross-country trucking job as a way to transport various goods. When Sally goes to pick up the goods for one last job before Dennis gets out, she realizes that she's tasked with smuggling a child for sex trafficking.

Juliette Binoche Plays Sally in Paradise Highway

Ethical dilemmas abound here, obviously, as Sally sadly transports the young Leila, a barely teenage girl who may cower but, when given the opportunity, will kill to survive. Leila's essentially property of a child sex trafficking ring, the same shady group that has helped Dennis through prison. But when this job falls apart, Dennis' release from prison and Sally's life come into the crosshairs of some vile people. It's all very tense, sometimes extremely sad, and executed precisely like clockwork (at least until a somewhat rushed ending, though that's a small complaint).

Related: Best Juliette Binoche Movies, Ranked

One of the best parts of Paradise Highway is watching the interactions between Sally and Leila, and the development between each of them. Sally is a fascinating character, worthy of Binoche's genius; she's of course morally icky but finds herself confronting an ethical impasse that's too much for her, one which makes her question her morality and relationships as a whole. She's a very strong and stubborn woman, but one who was irrevocably damaged as a child by her father, which is the reason her sibling bond is so strong (bordering on the incestuous at times, at least for Dennis).

Hala Finley is Incredible Alongside Morgan Freeman

Leila is strong as well, but society has put her in a position of immense weakness. Scrawny and terrified, one can only imagine the amount of pain she's been through, something that Hala Finley tragically expresses with deep eyes. One of the best child actors working today , Finley utterly stuns in Paradise Highway , even amongst such a stacked cast. The amount of trauma and tragedy this 13-year-old has visibly endured is heartbreakingly conveyed through an incredibly mature performance; while Finley has proven her skills in Man With a Plan and Back Roads , it's Paradise Highway where one can see the makings of a true star.

The film oscillates between their story and the quest of two cops in pursuit of the sex trafficking ring, Finley Sterling (Monaghan) and Agent Gerick (Freeman). The car rides between Finley and Gerick perfectly compliment Sally and Leila's semi-truck journey — on one blurry side of the increasingly gray law, two women on opposite poles of age travel the countryside; on the other, a retired agent and a rookie officer follow them. That way, each polarity of this great road trip movie contains elements of difference and antagonism which interrogate each other to come to a better understanding of some type of truth.

The interactions between the two cops are often wonderful, providing a nice break from the saddening but stimulating tribulations of Sally and Leila. Each actor is wonderful here, bouncing off each other with a mixture of sarcasm and earnestness. While Freeman and Monaghan have a wonderful rapport, Paradise Highway is hardly your typical buddy cop movie ; it's not your typical movie in general, actually.

The film is constantly unpredictable, even if certain characters or situations fall into the trap of tropes. The narrative pits all these characters on a collision course with each other, but it's always uncertain just how it will get to that point; like any good road movie, the journey is more important than the destination, and that's what Gutto does with her characters.

The Social Commentary of Paradise Highway

Positioning pairs of two people in vehicles throughout the majority of the film, Gutto isolates her characters (trapped in a moving vehicle, stuck in the midst of motion) and prompts surprising interactions and conversations. This is a film that makes full use of the term 'motion' picture, a movie that's always moving, not just across the visually stunning vistas and landscapes but through emotional arcs, psychologies, and themes. As the characters develop relationships and gradually reveal themselves, Paradise Highway unveils its own deliberate, damning indictment of the many systems which allow for a child to be sex trafficked.

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Without ever feeling overtly polemical or descending into diatribe, Paradise Highway takes on policing, the foster care system, misogyny, the prison-industrial complex, abuse, and sex trafficking all at once. The film recognizes that none of these single elements exist in a vacuum, and all are part of an economy of suffering, a very profitable exploitation. Gutto ties all the disparate pieces together in her road map of criticism, connecting the dots in a way that's both dramatically fulfilling and an unmistakable social commentary.

Anna Gutto's Movie is an Exciting Original

Commentary aside, though, Paradise Highway can be taken at face value as a really entertaining and fulfilling film, a 'classic Hollywood' type of movie that doesn't rely on brand recognition or meticulous CGI to tell an exciting story, and is a rarity in this sense. There are obviously many great dramas and horror films which exist outside the scope of franchise filmmaking and big-budget production values, but the realm of action/suspense/thrillers seems to be bifurcated into either cheap direct-to-video movies or gigantic $200 million spectacles with excessive special effects. Paradise Highway manages to find a middle ground, an immensely pleasing way to entertain without joining the bandwagon.

The aforementioned ending is a little rushed and perhaps too optimistic for a film about such heavy, important things, but it's still very well-acted and directed. Gutto does an excellent job with night sequences, using headlights, fluorescence, and neon to illuminate her tracking and overhead shots, as well as some action. A massive truck stop sequence in which everyone converges at night without realizing it is perfectly filmed, a suspenseful, lengthy scene that's one of the best of the year so far. Gutto's talent with previous short films transfers over to Paradise Highway better than one could have imagined, and her skill with actors (after having been one herself) is apparent, coaxing wonderful performances out of everybody.

Paradise Highway is an unexpected delight, despite its often depressing subject. Everything works together well, and if the final minutes aren't the greatest culmination one could hope for in such a good film, it bears repeating — it's the journey, not the destination. From Lionsgate, produced by Claudia Bluemhuber, Georgia Bayliff, Michael Leahy, and AnnaGutto, Paradise Highway is in select theaters, on demand, and digital.

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Paradise Highway Reviews

It’s all a bit too much and too shallow.

Full Review | Feb 12, 2024

... It’s no one’s finest hour.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 15, 2023

The script does almost nothing to build up to the revelation at the end – and the human trafficking angle feels icky.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 14, 2023

Binoche, Grillo and – especially – Freeman, all act as though they can't wait for the ordeal to be over. After two hours of Paradise Highway, you will sympathise.

Full Review | Mar 13, 2023

Juliette Binoche is unfortunately miscast as a gruff truck driver who goes on the run with a child trafficking victim in this tedious and tacky movie that is ineptly made on every single level. Paradise Highway leads to a hellish road of lousy filmmaking.

Full Review | Sep 11, 2022

Clichéd child trafficking drama has violence, language.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 29, 2022

Ambition...effort...well-intentioned...some genuinely affecting grace notes on occasion, but it's also shameless.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 27, 2022

Once the film reaches its finale, Paradise Highway is all lost opportunities and wasted talent. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Aug 8, 2022

No matter how good Binoche can be, she can’t elevate the melodramatic weight that slows down her newest film.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 7, 2022

Yes, Juliette Binoche is a truck driver, and after this compelling crime drama, you’d follow her rig anywhere.

Full Review | Original Score: 73/100 | Aug 4, 2022

Paradise Highway wastes two great actors.

Full Review | Aug 3, 2022

A solid enough outing for a first feature, Paradise Highway ultimately fails to establish itself as anything more than middle of the road.

Full Review | Aug 1, 2022

...neither brutal enough to play as an exploitation thriller, nor enough of a world-building deep dive into trucking and trafficking to measure up against similar and superior dramas like What Alice Found and Honey Bee.

Full Review | Jul 31, 2022

Newcomer Hala Finley is easily the standout here and one of the only reasons to consider watching what is ultimately a reasonably routine thriller with a bland supporting cast and obvious plot swerves

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jul 30, 2022

I've certainly never seen a film quite like Paradise Highway, but in the end, I'm not quite sure why it exists except to give Binoche that rare opportunity to work in an American production.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 29, 2022

“Paradise Highway” is the kind wayward, tonally muddled project an actress the caliber of Binoche would only sign onto if promises were broken and payback was required.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Jul 29, 2022

Despite the novelty of watching Juliette Binoche play a Deep South truck driver, this predictable thriller takes a long and winding road to nowhere.

Full Review | Jul 29, 2022

‘Paradise Highway’ chooses the road less taken, but doesn’t quite make the trip worthwhile for its audience

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jul 29, 2022

There are ... issues here, mainly to do with the way this story falls into so many routines and clichés.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jul 29, 2022

Though it is refreshing to see members of law enforcement focused on recovering and supporting a victim rather than pursuing her abusers, it does not allow for much narrative tension.

Full Review | Jul 28, 2022

Paradise Highway (2022)

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‘Paradise Highway’: Review

By Tim Grierson, Senior US Critic 2022-07-29T12:54:00+01:00

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Juliette Binoche takes to the wheel of this US-set generic drama set in the world of women truckers

Source: Lionsgate

‘Paradise Highway’

Dir/scr: Anna Gutto. US/Germany/Switzerland. 2022. 115 mins.

Juliette Binoche may play a seasoned truck driver with a firm grip on the wheel, but Paradise Highway proves to be an unsteady ride, guided by intriguing ideas but hampered by generic tendencies. This stripped-down thriller explores the world of human trafficking, casting Oscar-winner Binoche as the unlikely protector of a runaway girl. Making her feature debut, Norwegian writer-director Anna Gutto wants to tell a story about loneliness, survival and how women pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, although those themes are hitched to a plot that travels familiar terrain.

 It’s fascinating to watch Binoche in this sort of down-and-dirty genre project

Paradise Highway , which opens in the US on July 29 before screening in Locarno, represents an intriguing change of pace for Binoche, joined by Frank Grillo and Morgan Freeman. But the picture has received little buzz, despite its pertinent subject matter, so modest theatrical grosses can probably be expected before it transitions to the small screen. 

Sally (Binoche) is a no-nonsense truck driver who has few human connections beyond her fellow female drivers and her beloved incarcerated brother Dennis (Grillo), who will be getting out of prison in a few days. However, before he’s freed, he asks her to pick up a “package” for him — if she doesn’t, some threatening men will kill him on the inside — and so, reluctantly, she arrives at the pickup spot.  

To Sally’s surprise, though, she discovers that the illicit cargo is actually a girl, Leila (Hala Finley), who is part of a trafficking ring. After unexpected gunshots and a frantic escape, Sally finds herself transporting the frightened Leila, determined to get her to safety even as the dangerous heads of the trafficking ring start closing in. Meanwhile, Gerick (Freeman), a retired FBI agent who has devoted his long career to rescuing those ensnared by sex traffickers, is also on Leila’s trail.

A veteran of the theatre, Gutto uses the conventions of the crime-thriller to study Sally, a loner running from a troubled past. The details of her childhood will eventually be revealed, but it’s clear that Sally has responded by shielding herself from other people, preferring the solitude of the open road. Binoche brings grit and defiance to the character, who initially resents being drawn into Leila’s predicament. Predictably, though, Sally and Leila will soon become a de facto family, two damaged souls seeking solace. 

Unfortunately, Paradise Highway ’s narrative — a combination of a detective film and a road movie, mixed with elements of the chase picture — isn’t especially riveting. Threadbare conventions abound, including the fact that the crusty Gerick is saddled with a naive rookie partner (Cameron Monaghan), their fractious rapport typical for this type of crime drama. The obstacles Sally encounters as she tries to meet up with her brother are fairly standard, and a late-reel twist is easy to see coming down the pike.  

What gives the picture its spark, however, is Gutto’s curiosity about Sally’s milieu. Paradise Highway spends time in weigh stations and overnight truck stops, painting a picture of a community of women drivers who have learned to be as tough as their male counterparts as they battle sexism and sexual harassment. On its margins, the film can be an affecting look at working-class poverty and women who often have to fear for their well-being. (In one memorable scene, Sally gives Leila detailed instructions on how to prepare the truck at night to ensure no one breaks into the cab and assaults them.) One suspects that the film’s grimy B-movie trappings are merely an excuse for Gutto to talk about the need for connection in a threatening world.

But it’s hard to fully invest in Paradise Highway ’s emotional underpinnings when the characters lack nuance and the plotting fails to surprise. Binoche can’t quite bring Sally to life, despite exuding the same raw intensity she has often exhibited in her most daring work. (If nothing else, it’s fascinating to watch Binoche in this sort of down-and-dirty genre project.) Likewise, because Leila is too much of a construct — a symbol of the childhood innocence that was taken away from Sally long ago — Finley never fully bonds with her more experienced co-star. Paradise Highway ends with a dedication to survivors of human trafficking “and the brave people who step in to help.” That’s a touching sentiment, but this film’s honourable intentions aren’t enough to drive the story forward.

Production companies: Silver Reel, Strike Accord

International sales: Lionsgate International

Producers: Claudia Bluemhuber, Georgia Bayliff, Michael Leahy, Anna Gutto    

Cinematography: John Christian Rosenlund

Production design: Frida Oliva

Editing: Christian Siebenherz

Music: Anne Kulonen

Main cast: Juliette Binoche, Frank Grillo, Hala Finley, Cameron Monaghan, Morgan Freeman

• United States

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Paradise highway.

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Common Sense Media Review

Clichéd child trafficking drama has violence, language.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Paradise Highway is a 2022 drama in which Juliette Binoche plays a trucker who helps a girl try to escape a human trafficking ring. The movie talks about human trafficking, and in one scene, FBI agents enter a house in which trafficked kids were kept, including the basement where…

Why Age 16+?

Strong language throughout. "F--k" often used. Also "motherf----rs," "s--t," "a-

Talk of child abuse. FBI agents enter a house where child trafficking occurred -

Lead character gets drunk in a bar, is later assaulted and nearly robbed. Booze

Sexual innuendo between truckers.

Any Positive Content?

Movie makes pointed commentary on child trafficking, and how not enough is being

While flawed, Sally is a fiercely independent trucker who finds camaraderie and

Lead character is a female trucker who witnesses the sexism and dark side of tru

Strong language throughout. "F--k" often used. Also "motherf----rs," "s--t," "a--hole," "ass," "hell."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Talk of child abuse. FBI agents enter a house where child trafficking occurred -- scenes of a basement in which kids would be chained to the wall while an attack dog roamed around them. Characters shot and killed. Vehicle chases. Girl tied up after fighting an adult -- punches and biting. Lead character beaten and nearly robbed while she's drunk. At a truck stop, implied victims of trafficking walk around, approach trucks.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Lead character gets drunk in a bar, is later assaulted and nearly robbed. Booze and beer drinking in a bar. Talk of a mother's prescription drug addiction.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Movie makes pointed commentary on child trafficking, and how not enough is being done to stop it.

Positive Role Models

While flawed, Sally is a fiercely independent trucker who finds camaraderie and commiseration with other female truckers and tries to make things right when circumstances put her in the care of Leila, a child trying to escape traffickers.

Diverse Representations

Lead character is a female trucker who witnesses the sexism and dark side of trucking and truck stops.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Parents need to know that Paradise Highway is a 2022 drama in which Juliette Binoche plays a trucker who helps a girl try to escape a human trafficking ring. The movie talks about human trafficking, and in one scene, FBI agents enter a house in which trafficked kids were kept, including the basement where they were chained while an aggressive dog stalked around them. Characters are shot and killed. There are vehicle chases as well as binge-drinking in a bar. The lead character gets drunk in a bar and is later assaulted and nearly robbed. Fighting includes punches, kicks, and biting. There's talk of child abuse and talk of prescription drug addiction. Sex workers (victims of trafficking) are seen in a truck stop. Strong language throughout includes "f--k" and "motherf----rs. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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What's the Story?

In PARADISE HIGHWAY, Sally ( Juliette Binoche ) is a trucker awaiting her brother Dennis' ( Frank Grillo ) release from prison in a matter of days. But when Sally visits Dennis in prison, Dennis, under threats from within, asks Sally to transport an unknown illegal package across state lines. To her shock and anger, when Sally arrives at the pickup spot, she discovers that her cargo is a young girl named Leila. Eager to simply get this horrible task over with, Sally drives Leila to where she's to be dropped off, but things get even more complicated after Leila murders the man there to pick her up. This murder captures the attention of Gerick ( Morgan Freeman ), a retired FBI agent, who is paired with Sterling ( Cameron Monaghan ), a rookie agent and recent Yale graduate. As Gerick and Sterling work to catch the murderer and the trafficking ring they learn is behind it all, Sally grows to bond with and protect Leila. As Frank gets out of prison, Sally must find a way to save Leila and trust Gerick's intentions.

Is It Any Good?

This is a potentially powerful and moving true crime drama centered on child trafficking that's marred by true crime drama clichés, uneven pacing, and at least one miscast lead. Paradise Highway stars Juliette Binoche as Sally, a trucker who grew up in rural Arkansas who comes across as French Canadian, which doesn't really make sense. Her soon-to-be-paroled brother Dennis, played by Frank Grillo, doesn't really sound like someone from the rural South either. When Sally is tricked into transporting a 10-year-old girl named Leila (played by Hala Finley in one of the better performances), a murder shortly after attracts the attention of a retired FBI agent and an FBI agent fresh out of Yale.

The grouchy-retired-agent-paired-with-the-rookie -academic-agent opposite dynamic quickly grows stale after the first five times the grouch agent (played by Morgan Freeman) calls his partner by the inevitable "Yale" nickname. (Is it asking too much to have a cop-centered movie in which the partners are best buds with much in common, thus finding other sources of conflict?) These conventions and clichés dilute the more powerful moments of the movie, and those center on the crisis of child trafficking. The movie tries to do a lot with these characters -- so much so that some aspects to them come across as not fully developed, such as Sally's past life and present life as a trucker -- and the exchange between her and Freeman's character adds nothing but more clichés. In spite of all of this, there's still enough to the story and the powerful sense of what's at stake to make it reasonably resonant and enjoyable, but there's the lingering feeling that this should have been better than it is.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the commentary in Paradise Highway . What messages is the movie trying to communicate about human trafficking and society's response to this crisis?

Was the violence a way to further highlight the crisis of human trafficking, or did it seem excessive? Why?

What were some of the clichés in the movie? Can a movie still be good, even if there are some clichés? Why, or why not?

Movie Details

• On DVD or streaming : September 6, 2022
• Cast : Juliette Binoche , Morgan Freeman , Cameron Monaghan
• Director : Anna Gutto
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Black actors
• Studio : Lionsgate
• Genre : Drama
• Run time : 115 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : Language throughout and some violence.
• Last updated : December 8, 2022

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Flickering Myth

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Movie Review – Paradise Highway (2022)

September 6, 2022 by Robert Kojder

Paradise Highway , 2022.

Written and Directed by Anna Gutto. Starring Juliette Binoche, Frank Grillo, Morgan Freeman, Hala Finley, Cameron Monaghan, Veronica Ferres, Christiane Seidel, Jackie Dallas, Tommie Earl Jenkins, and Trayce Malachi.

A truck driver has been forced to smuggle illicit cargo to save her brother from a deadly prison gang. With FBI operatives hot on her trail, Sally’s conscience is challenged when the final package turns out to be a teenage girl.

There is being cast against type, and then there are positively baffling roles such as French great Juliette Binoche playing a trucker in a straight to VOD/limited theatrical release hybrid thriller. And while I have a hard time buying her character’s sibling relation to Frank Grillo, Juliette Binoche is not phoning in her Paradise Highway performance.

Juliette Binoche is actually quite intense, conflicted, and develops a somewhat moving and believable bond with her teenage co-star Hala Finley, who, factoring in the heavy subject material of child sex trafficking, children with nowhere to go, and a legal system that doesn’t always have their best interests, turns in highly impressive work far beyond her years; she is easily the standout here, and one of the only reasons to consider watching what is ultimately a reasonably routine thriller with a bland supporting cast and obvious plot swerves.

Sally (Binoche) makes an honest living as a truck driver. Writer/director Anna Gutto also establishes a network of women that Sally communicates with via radio on the road, whether for company, gossip, the day-to-day job, or inevitably asking for help during third-act dangers. It’s one of Paradise Highway ‘s better concepts, although one that somewhat feels wasted in terms of action and characterization since they don’t physically get involved in the story until the climax. Nevertheless, it points to positive female friendship while suggesting deconstructing the stereotype that the line of work is primarily reserved for men.

Between delivering boxes of cereal and whatnot, Sally’s brother Dennis (Grillo) sets up special package runs from inside prison for additional cash. He is also about to be released but has one last job for his sister that grossly turns out to be transporting a young girl off to a buyer in the middle of nowhere. Like any sane human being, Sally draws the line here until the traffickers threaten their life with Dennis. Reluctantly, Sally takes the girl on the road.

The girl’s name is Leila (the previously mentioned strikingly mature debut from Hala Finley), and it turns out she is brave enough to somewhat take control of the situation, using Sally’s shotgun to fire at the disgusting buyer from the truck. Such a mess forces Sally and Leila on the road and the run from both traffickers and authorities, with opportunities for them to develop a connection discussing their trauma, future expectations, and the hell they find themselves in. Leila doesn’t seem too bothered about murdering a despicable man in self-defense, but the interactions between her and Sally are often more engaging and sincere than not.

But Paradise Highway suffers from Anna Gutto’s decision to focus on a pair of special agents played by Cameron Monaghan and Morgan Freeman, with the latter as a character perpetually dedicated to rescuing those caught up in sex trafficking, especially children. He has been doing it for 50 years. He is meant to offer a wealth of wisdom while relaying to the audience how little is done in the real world about sex trafficking. Still, it’s all cookie-cutter and more message-driven without engaging cat and mouse thrills or characterizations to back it up. The movie also runs almost 2 hours, and it sure feels like it could have been cut down to a leaner 95 minutes or so by focusing on the heart of the story (Sally and Leila).

Once Sally and Dennis are reunited, the third act teases more layers to their connection as siblings from a broken home until an obvious twist derails that in favor of a brief sequence of truck-chasing action (there’s a reaction involving a dress that hurts to process and watch). Paradise Highway clearly has noble intentions but fumbles nearly everything aside from the central performances.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★  / Movie: ★ ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check  here  for new reviews, follow my  Twitter  or  Letterboxd , or email me at [email protected]

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Paradise Highway Ending, Explained: What Happens to Sally and Leila?

Written and directed by Anna Gutto, ‘ Paradise Highway ’ follows the story of a woman who is tasked with delivering a girl to human traffickers in exchange for keeping her brother alive. The film tackles some very relevant themes while delivering a crime drama that culminates in a chase of cat and mouse. Morality emerges as a prominent theme as we scrutinize every character’s actions under the lens of their past trauma. The story invokes empathy for the characters who fall victim to hideous crimes that often happen right under the nose of common people.

The characters succeed in garnering the viewers’ deepest sympathies and concerns about their future. The film is set in the background of a terrible world where no one seems trustworthy, even when it’s an innocent child’s life at stake. We root for the protagonists and hope that things turn out well for them. If you are wondering what happens after the shocking ending of the film, we’ve got you covered. Here we analyze the events of the film and see what that final scene means for the future of its characters. SPOILERS AHEAD

Paradise Highway Plot Synopsis

Sally is a truck driver who spends most of her days on the road. The only family she has is her brother, Dennis, who is about to be released from prison in a couple of days. But before that, he asks her to have a package delivered for him. If she refuses to do it, he’ll probably not be able to make it out of prison in one piece. To keep her brother alive and well, Sally refuses to take this final order for him. However, she’s thrown into a moral dilemma when she discovers that the package is actually a young girl named Leila.

While being delivered to Paul, Leila halts the process by shooting him dead. This lands Sally in a very bad situation because now, the traffickers will be after both of them, while also threatening Dennis’ life in prison. When Paul’s body is discovered, FBI agent Finley Sterling, consulted by retired agent Gerick, also starts looking for Sally and Leila. With both cops and criminals on their tails, Sally tries to keep Leila out of sight, but it proves to be a difficult task as Leila seeks to experience the world that she’s just been allowed out in.

Paradise Highway Ending: What Happens to Sally and Leila?

When Sally and Leila met, they had very different perceptions of each other. For Sally, Leila, even though just a little girl, was outright trouble. She knew her brother had landed her in something that was much more dangerous than it was worth, especially after Leila killed the person to whom Sally was supposed to deliver her. With a murder charge on their heads, Sally didn’t know what to do with Leila except to just deliver her to the intended people, as expected. For Leila, Sally was just another person to send her into a very bad life. All she thought about was survival and a possible escape. She didn’t want to go back to living in a cage, which is why she shoots Paul.

With a lot of people after them, Sally and Leila are forced to spend some days in each other’s company, and that’s what changes the dynamic between them. Following Paul’s death, when the situation starts to settle down a little bit, Sally sees that Leila is just another child, and it feels wrong to send her back to the hell that she’d come from. It is especially painful for Sally because she’d had a troubled childhood as well, suffering abuse at the hands of her father. To see that another child was going through something similar and that she was actually aiding it, made Sally question the path she was told to take for Leila.

Sally trusts Dennis to help her, but in the end, it turns out he’d been in on it the entire time. When her own brother betrays her, Sally’s other family comes out in her support. With a van full of girls, Dennis and his accomplice almost run away with Leila. This is until Sally’s trucker friends show up and bar all routes of escape. Utterly disappointed in her brother for subjecting children to unspeakable conditions, Sally decides not to save him anymore. Instead, she gives a call to Gerick.

Gerick knew Sally was the one hiding Leila, but he also knew that she was not the one putting the child’s life in danger. In fact, if he could think of anyone to take care of Leila, it would be Sally. When he arrives on the scene and finds a bunch of other girls, he decides to let Sally slip away with Leila. He’ll have to answer for it to his superiors, but he’s ready to take the fall rather than let Leila go back into the system and become susceptible to landing in such trouble again. Moreover, Sally was already ready to take Leila under her care, so much so that she sold her trailer to pay off the traffickers. So, leaving the rest of the girls to be taken care of by Gerick and Sterling, Sally and Leila ride away before the local police show up.


What Happens to Dennis?

The main catalyst of the events in ‘Paradise Highway’ is Dennis. He is in jail and to save him from being beaten up or killed there, Sally makes some deliveries on his behalf. She’s been doing that for the entire time that he was in jail not just because he’s her brother, but also because she believes it’s her turn to take care of him. As children, they were abused by their father, as evident from the cigarette burns on their hands and the trauma that Sally still carries, refusing to go back to the house that they grew up in. To save Sally, Dennis would bear the brunt of their father’s cruelty. He saved her when she was in trouble, so now, Sally feels obligated to save her brother when he’s in trouble.

Her dedication also works on the fact that she believes her brother genuinely wants to reform. Once he’s out of prison, he’ll leave his criminal ways behind. No matter what he’s done before, she expects him to do the right thing, especially when it concerns a child. This is why she’s in a shock of a lifetime when it turns out that not only did her brother stage the scene to look like the traffickers were not going to let go of Leila, but he also actively helped them in the trafficking of other children. He’d duped Sally into believing that he was a good guy and that he’d help her save Leila.

After everything she’s done for him, Sally decides that whatever she owed him is also done. She doesn’t want to destroy her own life and that of a bunch of other children just because he is her brother. So, she happily turns him in, knowing that he is going to spend some time in prison. This time, however, she won’t warm up to the idea of paying him visits or doing him any favors, no matter what he says. He made his bed, and now he must lie in it.

Read More: Is Paradise Highway Based on a True Story?

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Paradise Highway Movie

Who's Involved:

Frank Grillo, Juliette Binoche, Morgan Freema, Anna Gutto

Release Date:

Friday, July 29, 2022 Limited

Plot: What's the story about?

Academy Award® winners Juliette Binoche and Morgan Freeman lead this riveting thriller set in the trucking industry and its seamy underbelly of human trafficking. To save the life of her brother (Frank Grillo), Sally (Binoche), a truck driver, reluctantly agrees to smuggle illicit cargo: a girl named Leila (Hala Finley). As Sally and Leila begin a danger-fraught journey across state lines, a dogged FBI operative (Freeman) sets out on their trail, determined to do whatever it takes to terminate a human-trafficking operation — and bring Sally and Leila to safety.

official plot version

4.25 / 5 stars ( 8 users)

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Who stars in Paradise Highway: Cast List

Juliette Binoche

The Return, The Taste of Things  

Morgan Freema

Frank Grillo

Long Gone Heroes , Die Alone  

Who's making Paradise Highway: Crew List

A look at the Paradise Highway behind-the-scenes crew and production team.

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Official Trailer

Production: what we know about paradise highway, filming timeline.

• 2022 - July : The film was set to Completed  status.

Paradise Highway Release Date: When was the film released?

Paradise Highway was a Limited release in 2022 on Friday, July 29, 2022 . There were 14 other movies released on the same date, including DC League of Super-Pets , Vengeance and Purple Hearts . As a Limited release, Paradise Highway will only be shown in select movie theaters across major markets. Please check Fandango and Atom Tickets to see if the film is playing in your area.

Paradise Highway DVD & Blu-ray Release Date: When was the film released?

Paradise Highway was released on DVD & Blu-ray on Tuesday, September 6 , 2022 .

Paradise Highway VOD & Digital: When was the film released digitally?

Paradise Highway was released across all major streaming and cable platforms on Friday, July 29 , 2022 . Digital rental or purchase allows you to instantly stream and download to watch anywhere and anytime on your favorite devices. Available from various digital retailers including Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play, Apple, Vudu and others.

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• Wed., Dec. 7, 2022 from Amazon
• added the US DVD release date of September 6, 2022
• added the US Blu-ray release date of September 6, 2022
• Sun., Jul. 10, 2022
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• added Morgan Freema as actor to movie credits
• added Juliette Binoche as actor to movie credits
• added Official Trailer to movie trailers & videos
• added Anna Gutto as director to movie credits
• added a running time of 115 minutes
• added the US VOD release date of July 29, 2022

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‘Paradise Highway’ Ending, Explained: What Happens To Leila And Sally?

The action drama film “Paradise Highway,” written and directed by debutant filmmaker Anna Gutto, follows a fairly well-known plot and focuses more on its performances and delivery. The film follows a woman truck driver named Sally who gets caught up in a dangerous smuggling job that is involved with acts of child trafficking. Certain moments, mostly in the latter half, and the acting performances of Juliette Binoche, Hala Finley, and Morgan Freeman make “Paradise Highway” a worthwhile watch that effectively brings out desired emotions by its end.

Spoilers Ahead

‘Paradise Highway’ Plot Summary: What Is The Film About?

Sally, played by Juliette Binoche, is a woman trucker, hauling cargo from place to place while constantly staying connected with her friendly group of female truckers. The only surviving member of Sally’s family, her brother Dennis, has been serving time in prison for a series of petty crimes and is about to be released soon, within the upcoming week. While on her driving job, Sally visits Dennis in prison, hoping that it will be the very last time that she does so, and the siblings excitedly talk about what they will do once Dennis is out. However, right before leaving, Sally is handed a small piece of paper by her brother, and he even shows her a terrible bruise on his neck and torso when she refuses to take it. It becomes evident that a group inside the prison has been forcing Dennis to make Sally deliver illicit cargo from one place to another, and the woman has already done so a number of times to save her brother. If Sally refuses to do the jobs, though, Dennis is beaten up by the criminals, as he shows his sister at present, and the woman helplessly agrees.

Taking her truck over to the usual place of meeting, Sally sees a minivan drive up, and when she asks to see the cargo and looks into the vehicle, she sees a young girl of about twelve or thirteen inside. The woman handing over this cargo—the seller, so to speak—is a woman named Claire, and she tells Sally the instructions—she is to drive the young girl to a place across the state line and hand her over to a man named Paul. Sally obviously does not want to get involved in such delivery, knowing well enough that this is a case of child trafficking, but Claire’s threats about the danger this might pose for Dennis in prison make her finally agree. She hides the girl down by the front seats as she drives to the designated location, and when the girl tries to make conversation, she snaps her shut, saying that they are not to talk. Reaching the place after dark, Sally waits for Paul to arrive, who comes in a few minutes late, and just as she is talking to him to end her delivery trip, the man is fatally shot by the young girl. She had found a shotgun that Sally always kept inside the truck, and had gunned down her potential buyer. Paul tries to shoot back, but as Sally backs up the truck and flees the scene with the girl, the man dies from his wounds. With the young girl about to be trafficked still with her and potential charges of murder on her hand, Sally confusedly wonders what to do next as she drives her truck away.

How Does Sally Finally Open Up to the Young Girl?

Sally is terribly angry at the young girl initially for having landed her in such a mess, even though the girl keeps screaming and crying after shooting the man, making her trauma quite clear. The trucker takes a stop at a rest area, and when the girl makes it evident that she does not want to listen to orders, Sally ties her to the back of her cabin on her bed. She calls up Dennis on a burner phone that he uses inside the jail, and the brother is extremely scared about what the repercussions of the incident will be. He warns Sally to behave normally and keep the girl with her, for she is the only reason the criminals will not kill her. Over the next few rest stop areas, Sally sees the girl to be sick and then cares for her even though she is a bit rusty in sharing company. As the child recovers back to health, Sally drives her truck into a big rest area and asks the girl to stay hidden behind the curtains in the cabin whenever she is not inside. The girl agrees at first but then tries to leave, only to be confronted by a young woman who suspiciously calls out at her, and she runs away to hide herself at the back. Gradually the two make acquaintances and grow warmer with each other, the girl telling her name to be Leila. Sally presents the two options that they have in front of them at the moment—either to go to the police and confess everything and seek help, or to listen to Dennis’ instructions as he always knows what to do in times of trouble. Leila says that she does not trust the police, and Sally, too, obviously, shares a similar opinion of the authority, so they both decide to pursue the second option.

As the truck drives through picturesque countryside, young Leila seems to enjoy the journey, and she now starts following Sally’s instructions and helps her keep the cabin clean. Dennis gets in touch with his sister at this time and tells her to drive to their childhood home in Arkansas, where he would meet them, and Sally immediately feels uncomfortable at the idea. Dennis mentions their father has died, and nobody lives in their house anymore, which means that the woman had been abused by her father regularly. Sally does confirm this, later on, saying that Dennis would get in his way and take most of the beatings instead of his younger sister. She agrees to Dennis’ plan now, and drives to another big truck stop to hide from the authorities as well as the traffickers. During this time, a young boy of Leila’s age asks the girl to join him and his family for a friendly pancake party, but Leila declines the invitation, probably out of doubt (which is by now instinctive in her) that she might end up in trouble there. She cleans the cabin as Sally is out shopping, and finds a box full of Sally’s letters, through which she finds out that Dennis is actually a convicted criminal himself. When Sally returns, the two have a fight, and both are angry at each other. That evening, Sally wakes up to see a handwritten note left on her driving seat by the girl, claiming that she had left her as she did not want to mess her situation up anymore. As Leila sits in the young boy’s trailer chatting and playing with him, Sally frantically searches for her and then finally gives up.

During all this time, the police had found Paul’s dead body and had started an investigation into the matter. The case is also taken up by an elderly retired FBI agent named Gerick (Morgan Freeman), who very well knows the victim as he had earlier been part of his own investigation. Gerick had dedicated his post-retirement life to solving cases of teenage girls being trafficked and bringing such criminals to justice, and he had known Paul to be one of the buyers of these girls. The man is helped in this case by a rookie agent, Finley Sterling, who Gerick keeps referring to as Yale, as the partner is a graduate of the college. Together they try to find out who might have killed the sex offender, and Gerick tries his best to convince the police commissioner of the utmost priority of the case. The commissioner disagrees, though, saying that there is little evidence in the case and that child trafficking would go on as long as there were buyers. From witnesses of people in a neighborhood, the two investigators get to learn of a house where some girls had been kept and recently moved out, and visiting the place confirms their suspicion. It was indeed the place where trafficked girls were kept, and it even had a cage in its basement in which any disobedient girl was kept. From the murder crime scene, it had become evident to the police that the perpetrator had been in a semi-truck, and Gerick rightly guesses that the truck driver still had custody of the young girl (which is easy to guess as Paul had been found on the spot where he used to carry out the handover of young girls), and he moves to search for any unusual truckers in the rest areas.

On the other hand, Claire and her associate had also received news of Paul’s death and had instantly moved out of their safehouse (the same house that was later visited by the police). Moving around to avoid any suspicion, they were also searching for Leila and had finally got word of where she was from their network of sex workers and handlers. On the very same evening that Sally thinks she has lost Leila, both sides come to the truck stop looking for her, and Sterling also questions a drunk Sally, who denies knowing anything about the kidnapped girl. Two women working for Claire corner Sally and search her truck and then question her about where Leila is, when young Leila herself appears and manages to get hold of the shotgun from inside the truck. She rescues Sally from her attackers and makes her drive away from the rest stop, which Gerick also spots and calls out an order for local police to stop the truck. Sally and Leila somehow manage to hide by the side of the highway for the night, and also lose the police cars chasing after them.

The next morning, Leila asks Sally to drive them over to a nearby plot where she and her family used to live in their camping trailer, and Sally readily agrees. Leila has a heartbreak, though, as she sees that their trailer is missing from the place, and she tells her companion how her mother got addicted to drugs, how she had been sent over to group homes and how she escaped from there to be caught by traffickers. Sally, too, shares incidents from her own childhood, about her abusive father, and the two gradually seem to become the closest friends they have at the time. Understandably, Sally sees her own young self in Leila, only perhaps in a worse situation than she had been, and this is made all the more evident by “Paradise Highway” through a scene in which the images of their two faces almost come together on the truck window.

Since the beginning of the film, Sally seems to have kept herself aloof from her trucker friends’ group, but now, deciding to protect Leila in any way possible, she connects with her friends, who are ready to help at the get-go. She transfers Leila into one of their trucks and drives her own truck onto the highway, knowing that the police would come after her immediately. So it happens, but they do not find the girl in her truck and are about to let her go when Gerick talks to her privately and tells her that he works on his own and that she should contact him if she wants to keep the girl safe, even from the police. The veteran detective had spotted Leila’s drawings in a magazine inside Sally’s truck, and knew that the girl had been there but also realized that Sally was trying to protect her. He and Sterling drive their car around, following Sally’s truck from a safe distance, but are once again outsmarted by the woman when she sells off her trailer and drives away in just her truck. As the detectives had been tailing Sally’s vehicle from behind, they saw the now detached trailer sitting still and thought that Sally, too, was inside, while the woman had long gone. She takes Leila in her truck again and now drives to Arkansas to meet with Dennis.

After the siblings finally meet and share their moment together, Sally tells her brother that she wants to pay the full amount that is being asked of Leila and keep the girl behind with her. Although the brother is doubtful of her intentions at first, she mentions how she has sold off her trailer to afford the money and asks him to go negotiate such a deal with Claire. As evening falls, Dennis wants to take the girl to an old abandoned airport so that he can make a deal with the traffickers, but Sally refuses to let Leila go alone with him and joins them. While she is alone in the truck, though, she calls for help from her trucker friends and tells them the location of the meeting. Then she drives Dennis and Leila to the airport, and the three meet with Claire and her associate, who have also brought along a minivan full of young girls. As Dennis holds Leila away from the traffickers, Sally hands over the money to Claire, but the deal soon turns sour as Claire pulls out a gun and her associate takes Sally hostage.

‘Paradise Highway’ Ending Explained: What Does Sally Learn About Her Brother?

Claire now wants to get Leila back in her custody so that she can sell her off, and her associate starts roughing up Sally. While Dennis holds young Leila, he warns the attackers not to harm his sister, but seeing the male associate roughing Sally up even more, the brother pulls out a revolver and shoots the associate dead. Although Sally is relieved, Claire now starts shouting at Dennis, saying that he was the one who had asked them to make it look real. Sally quickly understands that her brother was very much involved with the child traffickers, and he had told Claire of the entire plan—he and his sister would arrive with the girl and the money, and Sally would pay the money, and then Claire and his associate would rob her of the girl too, while Dennis would pretend that he was on Sally’s side. Dennis does indeed now move into Claire’s mini-van, along with Leila, and Sally can only helplessly run after the vehicle. However, just as they are about to leave, Sally’s women truckers’ group friends appear with their big trucks and block all escape routes for the van. Dennis makes a run for it and then tries to convince his sister that selling the girls off would give them a lot of money with which they could live an easy life, but an infuriated Sally only points her gun at him. Dennis asks what Leila can give Sally that he cannot, and what she owes to the little girl, to which Leila herself answers that she owes her nothing. Sally ultimately lets her brother live, and instead, she and her friends apprehend him. The next morning, Gerick and his partner arrive on the scene, as Sally seems to have contacted him, and they arrest the man and Claire, and also rescue the other young girls. Leila, though, sticks around with Sally, and the two happily drive away as a new-found family.

It is true that “Paradise Highway” offers very little new or unique in terms of its plot, but certain moments in the film do have their due effect. The take of a female trucker being the protagonist and her ever-helpful friends, who are also all women, is a nice uniqueness, as truck stops and rest areas here are seen more as spots of danger or unnecessary trouble than the sort of safe havens that most male truckers in films find them to be. Sally, an experienced and tough trucker, is approached lasciviously by a drunk mascot at one such stop, and so what such places would do with Leila is easily felt. The film also does not make any place for diluting its contents, or for euphemisms, and yet it does not get gory, which is to be commended. 

“Paradise Highway” is a 2022 Drama Thriller film written and directed by Anna Gutto.

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Paradise Highway Reviews

• 48   Metascore
• 1 hr 55 mins
• Drama, Action & Adventure
• Watchlist Where to Watch

To save her brother's life from a dangerous prison gang, Sally must smuggle a mysterious cargo package in her truck. When the FBI starts following Sally, she finds out she's transporting a teenage girl. What ensues is a suspenseful journey that challenges Sally's moral compass.