Killing Fields

I was sort of hanging for this film, great cast, story line that can make for great viewing, and I like the setting of the story as well. And after another lackluster year when it comes to entertainment on the big screen, I thought this could be great!

Well sadly to say it is messy, when it comes to this kind of cop film, you need direction, some one that can tell the story at a good pace, connect all the dots, get you engrossed in the mood of the film, make you sit and wait for more clues and so on, but this film lacks all of that.

Sure the acting is solid, but I expected that with the good cast, but it just does not flow at a good pace, it jumps over some dots that should be connected to make you feel you are part of the characters, and that's where this film is messy, hence my score of 5, sort of sits in the middle.

Nothing special, but not bad either, 5 out of 5 for this one.

Apparently this is based on true events which occurred several decades prior spanning for a long time. This film has more so the feel of an episode of CSI or any police crime drama thriller type we have seen before. Also somewhat reminded of True Detective but this was obviously made before that. It starts off slow, picks up the pacing and interest a little in the middle then doesn't exactly reach to great heights as it should have.

Chloë Grace Moretz is possibly the standout in a very early tome portraying a troubled teen. The highlight and climax involves her being ultimately kidnapped with the lead cop (Sam Worthington) finding the killer in the house and ultimately taking them down. The reveal of the killer was far too predictable and rather anti climatic. In the end, this film wasn't anything special and was rather average.

Detectives Mike Souder (Sam Worthington) and Brian Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) are investigating mutilated bodies dumped in a marsh known as the Killing Fields. They pick up Anne Sliger (Chloë Grace Moretz) who is under probation and is suppose to be home but she doesn't get along with her troubled mother Lucie (Sheryl Lee). Detective Pam Stall (Jessica Chastain) is a police investigator from the neighboring jurisdiction and Mike's ex-wife.

It has some grimy hard-boiled police drama. It's not breaking any new grounds. The actors try to do good work. Other than Worthington, I like all the actors. It has a moody backwoods sense. It's slow and disjointed at times. Directed by Ami Canaan Mann daughter of the famous Michael Mann, this is a good starting point but is not good enough to guarantee future greatness. She has an interesting eye but there is not enough tension for much of the movie.

OK.

Mumbling, yes. about as much as Run Baby Run. Archetypal characters, well, tick, but then this is the US.

Personally, I liked it. I didn't expect to, but it was OK. They did a 'Coen brothers-y' thing, not really explaining the back story.

OK. Maybe the two male leads have similar attitudes to women and to their abusers as I do, so maybe that biases me, but I don't think that's all.

I think this has a body. Brains, guts, and a spine. The minor parts are well cast and directed, and the three leads rock.

I'm a bit surprised how slated this has been on IMDb.

I liked it, OK? So sue me....

A modest, if unspectacular low-key offbeat crime thriller that seems to focus on its bleak noir atmospherics and rustic sense of place (being filmed in New Orleans creating such an alienating environment from its bayous), and less so on its moody characters and narrative depth of its investigation. Things just seem to happen, with little to no reasoning behind it. Conventional storytelling enlivened by its edgy moments of suspense. Texas cop Mike Souder is paired up with out-of-town New York detective Brian Heigh where they're dealing with a local murder, but Heigh finds himself looking into another case involving a serial killer who murders his lady victims in the killing fields a wasteland outside Texas City. Director Ami Canaan Mann (yep the daughter of Michael Mann) in her debut feature creates a slick look with her prowling camera and gets strong performances from the likes of Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Sam Worthington, Chloe Grace Moretz and Jessica Chastain. Even the minor support give fine turns; Sheryl Lee, James Herbert and an unsettling Stephen Graham. However it's the four main leads that really carry this. Morgan's turn as the New York copper is the film's heart and conscience, but that's not taking anything away from Worthington and Chastain. Worthington probably gives the best performance of his career as the hard-bitten Texan detective and Chastain really does hold her own as a fellow officer. However it's Moretz who really surprises in a tender, but spirited performance as the street kid of the town tramp. She's definitely a talent. You can't take anything away from the cast, as they don't limit themselves to the material's shortcomings. The story is supposedly inspired by true events, but never does it go into any great detail and this can be its downfall. As what transpires can feel forced and rushed leading to something predictably anti-climatic due to the red herrings being too obvious. Still Mann keeps you interested with her technical techniques, but also giving it a contemplatively humane touch amongst its slow pace and brooding circumstances. A fair, if compelling straight-to-DVD enterprise.

"You don't know how close to the edge you are".