Maggie Moore(s) AD Introduction

Maggie Moore(s) is a 2023 Sky Original black comedy film, loosely based on a true story and directed by John Slattery.  It follows the story of Police Chief Sanders as he investigates the bizarre murders of two women of the same name, while unravelling a web of small-town lies and mysteries. The following is an introduction that aims to provide detailed descriptions of characters and locations within the film where there was no time to do so during the Audio Description soundtrack.  This introduction aims to avoid any key spoilers or plot points, but it will describe locations, characters and relationships that only become relevant as the film progresses.

The film takes place in the fictional, dusty desert town of Buckland, New Mexico. It’s filled with empty highways, dirt roads, quiet cul-de-sacs, and low-rise low-income buildings. 

The film opens with a tense chase.  A woman in her mid-30s, Maggie Lee Moore, is pursued by an unknown assailant through dark streets and to an empty motel where she is cornered by a hulking male, who stalks towards her.  Maggie Lee Moore is a white woman, with long dark brown hair and brown eyes. She’s slim and of average height and is wearing a bright yellow business suit.
Maggie’s body is discovered by police in the motel parking lot and Police Chief Sanders and Deputy Reddy begin their investigation into her murder.    Police Chief Sanders is white and in his early 50s, with short greying and well-kept hair that he wears swept to the side. He has closely shaved stubble, green eyes and is tall (around 6ft) and fit.  He has a gently demeanour but has authority and presence.  Chief Sanders mostly wears his khaki-coloured police officers’ uniform, but when he’s in civilian clothing he favours a classic plaid shirt over a white t-shirt combination.
Deputy Reddy has light brown skin of Indian/British heritage in his late 30s or early 40s.  He has short black hair which he wears combed neatly to the side and is clean shaven. He’s quite a bit shorter than Police Chief Sanders at around 5ft 5 and has a slim build. He appears confidant, and struts around like a nonchalant, cheeky brother sidekick, cracking dry jokes at inappropriate times.

10 days earlier, Jay Moore is embroiled in a shady, off the books business arrangement with Tommy T and takes delivery of mouldy, out of date food late at night at his franchise restaurant: Castle Subs. Jay Moore is a slobbish white man, in his mid-thirties with blue eyes and short brown hair.  He has a moustache; unkempt stubble and his eyes are sunken and tired.  He’s of average height with a slim build, but a lazy potbelly.  He’s often in his Castle Subs polo shirt, (which is a faded teal colour) tucked into his trousers and wears a grubby white Castle Subs visor on his head.  His belly protrudes and hangs loosely over his tight belt.  The Castle Subs franchise is a ground floor roadside diner with a kitchen, storeroom, and office in the back, which is visible from the restaurant.  It has yellow walls and a slanted red roof, with a castle themed parapet running along the top. The business logo consists of a yellow oval with red text reading Castle Subs, and there is a red Castle parapet on top of the oval.  The building looks like it’s seen better days, with cracked and flaking paint and has several very low-price deals in the window.   Jay buys beer every night and with it a Mega Ball lottery ticket, which he pins to the wall in the restaurant’s office.

Tommy T – is a cocksure Asian American man who works for Liberty Bell foods. He is short and slightly chubby, in his late 40s or early 50s, with greying short black hair which he styles to a soft point at the front.  He has a trimmed moustache and a separate goatee.

Jay returns to his home, a small middle America red-brick bungalow, at the end of a leafy cul-de-sac.  It has a concrete double drive and double garage, with an overgrown front garden full of shrubs and bushes.  He finds Maggie, his wife. She is white, around 5ft 5 with a slim build and in her mid-thirties, with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes.  It’s clear Maggie fell out of love with Jay a long time ago, and she’s had enough.  Maggie is feisty and furious.

Rita is Jay and Maggie’s nosey neighbour.  She’s single with a lack of self-confidence and lives alone.   She’s white in her early 50s, with shoulder length wavy dark brown hair and has dark brown eyes. She is around 5ft 5, with a slender, toned body.  Later Rita helps Police Chief Sanders with his mysterious investigation, and they form a relationship along the way.

Jay is convinced by Tommy T to hire someone to scare Maggie into keeping quiet about their business.  Later that night Jay arrives at an unwelcoming, run down house with a messy dirt drive. The front yard is full of broken-down vehicles, wood and random bits of machinery and leads to a filthy house covered in dust and filled with rubbish.  A couch, with depressed stained cushions that sag in the middle, sits in front of a massive flat screen TV in the main room.   Here Jay meets Kosco an incredibly imposing man, both very tall and very broad, with a big belly. He has very white skin, blue eyes and has a messy head of red hair, and a bushy thick ginger beard.  He’s wearing a dark coloured boiler suit, and later wears loose-fitting, casual bowling shirts.  Kosco is introduced as being deaf and writes everything down on a A4 pad of slightly yellow, lined paper, with a thick black sharpie.  Kosco is intimidating in a slow, confident, and chilling, way but his deafness is a seen as a weakness that Jay believes he can possibly manipulate.

When Kosco’s heavy handed attempt to scare Maggie spirals out of control, Jay stumbles upon his wife’s namesake, Maggie Lee Moore; her name, and information unwittingly gifted by Sammi, a laid back but chatty cashier at the local drugstore whose face is framed by tendrils of dyed purple hair.  Jay then hatches another plan to confuse the police investigation and point the finger of suspicion elsewhere. 

As the film hurtles towards its climax, other key characters are introduced.  Andy Moore, Maggie Lee Moore’s husband, is white, of average height and slim build in his late 30s.  He has brown thinning and receding hair.  He appears to genuinely care for Maggie but comes across somewhat weaselly and arrogant.  He points to Duane Rich, a disgruntled and jealous co-worker as Maggie’s murderer.  Duane is a white man, in his early 40s with short dark hair which has started to grey.  It’s neatly combed to the side, and he wears horn rim glasses.  He’s accused of being a nazi, and admits to being an alcoholic, but appears gentle and unassuming.  Duane is a slight man, with a slim build, is shorter than most and always wears green hunting camouflage crocs.

Cassie – is a white woman in her mid-twenties, with bright bubble-gum pink hair which she wears in a bob.  She has a silver ring piercing in her left nostril and wears bright pink lipstick.  She works at a bar and provides key information to the murder investigation.

And finally, Greg is a teenager who is seen but not really heard throughout the film.  Greg is the only other employee at Jay’s Castle Subs restaurant and is treated poorly. He’s skinny with shoulder length, scruffy dark auburn hair and has acne. He appears relatively meek, but is always watching and listening, and silently plans his own revenge on Jay.

Introduction written and narrated by Davide Arbisi. Maggie Moore(s) is available on Sky Cinema Premiere from the 4th of August.