Death in Texas

If you strip down the core of the story it is very good. However the script and execution would have lots of room for doing it better. Like if they had the time and money to hire a really good script writer and a bit better direction here and there would have improved it greatly.

Set in El Paso (but mostly filmed in New mexico), a 35-ish man is up for parole and ends up getting out of prison, we later find out after seven years. His 50-ish mom has had a hard life and is a receptionist for a legal firm. But she has bigger problems, even as a non-drinker she is experiencing liver failure. The son will do anything to help his mother live.

I really can't say much more without spoilers. It is a hard movie to stick with for the first half hour or so, it seems a bit rough and over-the-top in many places. My wife gave up at about the 30 minute mark but I was curious so kept watching. Overall I am glad I did, there is a pretty good movie in there, cleverly disguised as an amateur production.

On DVD from my public library.

Good story, but directed & paced like molasses in winter. If you're afraid to do action scenes, don't, it would have been better off to skip them and have them explained by a character after the fact. It's much easier on the audience than doing what was done here and make those watching suffer through the stupid blurred out, unbelievable and illogical scenes.

A waste of a talented cast as Dern was too over the top and Bogomil just looked so bored so they were directed like half the cast didn't want to be there.

To many cliches re how the main character can take pain, especially since half the time he looks like he's suffering from constipation and the other just like he's not even there.

The exception to the film was Lang & Boyle, both did a good to great job in their interaction/sentimental exchange, it's for them that the rating was 2 more stars than deserved.

To those saying this was the best thing since sliced bread, grow up or i hope you got paid well.

Seriously, who's idea was it to cast Dern as some big rich drug lord/gangster? The guy looks and sounds like a drunk bum. I was cringing every time the camera was on him and his straggly hair, and started talking like a drunk. He may have worked in a comedy version of this story. Worst casting decision I've ever seen; that casting agent needs to change careers. Then you have Ronnie Gene Blevins all monotonic and straight faced, looking like he was bored and only there for the paycheck. I struggled to stay awake when most of the focus was on him. The only stand-out and convincing performances were by Lara Flynn Boyle, Stephen Lang and Cher Cosenza.

The directing by novice writer and director Scott Windhauser wasn't too bad for a newb, and although the stories concept was amazing, the execution was less desirable. There were many plot and technical issues. Some dialogue was cheesy and/or unnecessary. It lacked any type of action. Why just show flashes of him and the bouncer? Some nice exciting action would've been refreshing to give the audience someone to route for - and struggle less staying awake. The pacing needed improvement, as the 101 min runtime felt much longer. The score was actually not bad for a B-film, but I had some issues with the sound, as some dialogue sounded muffled and illegible. It's a shame, because this story had lots of potential, had it been cast properly with some tweaks to the screenplay. So never mind all the bogus high reviews, it's a generous 6/10 from me.

I enjoyed this film. Engaging storyline, with well rounded characters. I thought the cast was fantastic. It was good to see Lara Flynn Boyle back onscreen in a film. I thought the real standout actor was Ronnie Gene Blevins. He gave a great performance, and I'm looking forward to seeing his future projects.

Without giving any spoilers, it was a very satisfying ending, to a good story.

I really enjoyed this film. Didn't know much what to expect. Explores a lot of elements of human emotions and human nature. Evil, redemption, sacrifice, and more. Definitely worth a watch.