Like many other indie films, this one features excellent acting by its leads, but is deeply flawed in other respects. Patrick Wilson (Wallace) gives one of his best performances as a sheriff trying to break out of arrested development and Ian McShane (Lee) is hugely entertaining as his brutal predecessor. Lynn Collins (Marla), John Belushi (Shep), and John Leguizamo (Atticus)are also fine in smaller roles. The music is appropriately spare but haunting. The tone is unrelentingly gruesome and nihilistic.
Unfortunately the film's dramaturgy is such a mess that it could serve as a classic example of the ill-made play . We are repeatedly told that Wallace is an "asshole" but we don't see him act as such until more than halfway through. Characters move from place to place like chess pieces and have knowledge of key plot points seemingly by magic. There are conspicuous gaps in continuity. Wallace hides in a mobile home from the killer Atticus; we are never shown how he escapes. How does Wallace know there is a gun in Lilly's/Atticus's toilet? In the climactic scene, Lee's attitude toward Wallace's killing of Atticus changes diametrically in seconds. I don't believe Wallace and Marla can simply drive off into the sunset. The bloody stump that is Wallace's arm will become infected, and the murder he committed will come out once he is hospitalized.
In sum, while "The Hollow Point" has effective acting and music, it falls short of providing a satisfying experience due to sloppy plotting and characterization.
Unfortunately the film's dramaturgy is such a mess that it could serve as a classic example of the ill-made play . We are repeatedly told that Wallace is an "asshole" but we don't see him act as such until more than halfway through. Characters move from place to place like chess pieces and have knowledge of key plot points seemingly by magic. There are conspicuous gaps in continuity. Wallace hides in a mobile home from the killer Atticus; we are never shown how he escapes. How does Wallace know there is a gun in Lilly's/Atticus's toilet? In the climactic scene, Lee's attitude toward Wallace's killing of Atticus changes diametrically in seconds. I don't believe Wallace and Marla can simply drive off into the sunset. The bloody stump that is Wallace's arm will become infected, and the murder he committed will come out once he is hospitalized.
In sum, while "The Hollow Point" has effective acting and music, it falls short of providing a satisfying experience due to sloppy plotting and characterization.