Smart mouthed border patrol officers Treat Williams and Kris Kristofferson aren't about to be bullied and lied to by a bunch of federal hacks obviously up to no good in this comic but dark thriller, funny because of the way the Hope and Crosby of the desert deal with officious arrogance. "You've got a filthy mouth", Williams is told by one obnoxious government clown to which he replies without skipping a beat, "And you've got a filthy job". Score Williams 1, idiot fed, -10.
The film seems to deal with the discovery of a crashed jeep, a 20 year old skeleton, and a crate of cash, and what it connects to leads to a bunch of conspiracy theory questions that tie in to some pretty rancid corruption going back those 20 years. The government agents aren't above killing to keep this secret, and it ties in with Kristofferson and Williams' supervisors.
While they don't have major roles, Tess Harper and Jean Smart are important to the plot and are very good with the material they're given. Rip Torn, Roberts Blossom and Kevin Conway have mind blowing supporting roles. This may not have the staying power of other dark thrillers that paint several political thrillers as classics, and the ending is a letdown, a big "huh?" after everything that's been built up. It's like the writers just chickened out of the blue. That lowered my reaction and made for a disappointing experience in spite of the great first 3/4 of the film.
The film seems to deal with the discovery of a crashed jeep, a 20 year old skeleton, and a crate of cash, and what it connects to leads to a bunch of conspiracy theory questions that tie in to some pretty rancid corruption going back those 20 years. The government agents aren't above killing to keep this secret, and it ties in with Kristofferson and Williams' supervisors.
While they don't have major roles, Tess Harper and Jean Smart are important to the plot and are very good with the material they're given. Rip Torn, Roberts Blossom and Kevin Conway have mind blowing supporting roles. This may not have the staying power of other dark thrillers that paint several political thrillers as classics, and the ending is a letdown, a big "huh?" after everything that's been built up. It's like the writers just chickened out of the blue. That lowered my reaction and made for a disappointing experience in spite of the great first 3/4 of the film.