Had potential, but squanders it.
A movie set in a small Texas town, near the border with Mexico. Follows a few characters in their dull, everyday lives, and how they are all affected by the presence of the Border Patrol.
The movie had heaps of potential, especially with regard to the issue of illegal immigration in the US. How this affects race relations, especially with Hispanic people, was also a great possibility.
However, while it touches on these issues, there is no real, or at least thoughtful, examination. The movie might as well have been set in the middle of the US in an all-white community it was so superficial.
The setting is really just a vehicle for a random, pointless plot (and I use the word "plot" very broadly here). The conclusion is quite impactful, but it almost doesn't have a context, what goes before is so unfocused.
Many of the scenes are there just for shock value, but you expect nothing less from writer-director Larry Clark (director of Kids, Bully and Ken Park).
Dialogue often consists of long monologues, telling some tale of personal woe but with no real context, interspersed with simplistic, pop, cereal-box philosophy. It often feels like you're watching someone being interviewed for a documentary, especially when that someone doesn't really want to be there.
Throw in performances that vary from OK to utter rubbish and you have an incredibly poor movie. Some of the performances are among the worst I have ever seen in a movie (and I've seen some of Kristen Stewart's movies...). Lindsay Jones as the teacher is mind-bogglingly bad.
Avoid.
A movie set in a small Texas town, near the border with Mexico. Follows a few characters in their dull, everyday lives, and how they are all affected by the presence of the Border Patrol.
The movie had heaps of potential, especially with regard to the issue of illegal immigration in the US. How this affects race relations, especially with Hispanic people, was also a great possibility.
However, while it touches on these issues, there is no real, or at least thoughtful, examination. The movie might as well have been set in the middle of the US in an all-white community it was so superficial.
The setting is really just a vehicle for a random, pointless plot (and I use the word "plot" very broadly here). The conclusion is quite impactful, but it almost doesn't have a context, what goes before is so unfocused.
Many of the scenes are there just for shock value, but you expect nothing less from writer-director Larry Clark (director of Kids, Bully and Ken Park).
Dialogue often consists of long monologues, telling some tale of personal woe but with no real context, interspersed with simplistic, pop, cereal-box philosophy. It often feels like you're watching someone being interviewed for a documentary, especially when that someone doesn't really want to be there.
Throw in performances that vary from OK to utter rubbish and you have an incredibly poor movie. Some of the performances are among the worst I have ever seen in a movie (and I've seen some of Kristen Stewart's movies...). Lindsay Jones as the teacher is mind-bogglingly bad.
Avoid.