The Devil Has a Name

Bosworth is supposedly a brilliant oil goddess that outsmarts a farmer who has had his ground water poisoned. She navigates the farmer, the illegals, and the oil company to end up sitting head of the table at the end. The storyline is fractured and the stabs at dark comedy don't really work.

When a production is promoted to be "inspired by true events", a viewer expects actual facts. I watched this Olmos "inspired by true events" production for an hour and could only find one true event. Yes, indeed, JFK was assassinated in Dallas. Other than that, I cannot find one actual fact.

It seems the screenwriter is portraying the contamination of ground water in the Imperial Valley is a result of oil production and lax oversight by California's oil production oversight boards and laws. That is not a fact but imagination.

The contamination is factually based in the overuse of surface water for irrigation and being transported hundreds of miles to the overcrowded and under educated California population centers. The transport away from source never allows aquifers to recharge. This fact is never addressed, as it intersect's with Olmos' political views of the source of California's overgrowth, illegal immigration.

Olmos' work here is not factual in any degree, and blazes a trail into a growing movie genre, Non-science Fiction.

Interesting but ultimately over the top; "The Devil Has A Name" has a decent approach but fails to deliver a film worthy of its talent in front and behind the camera.

In this drama inspired by true events, a psychotic oil matriarch leaves the whole industry exposed when she attempts to outfight a farmer whose water has been poisoned.

The exaggerated approach is what really kills "The Devil Has A Name". There is no fine line and honestly the story gets lost in its antics. The casting is good and Kate Bosworth is bad-ass but even she can't save this film. David Strathairn is also delivers a good performance, but then again when is he ever bad? Overall unfortunate that a film like this directed by the legendary Edward James Olmos, couldn't get better treated.

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The production looks rushed and cheap and the image-quality looks like it's right out of first semester of film school. These are things I could live with but the storytelling is seriously weak. The actors have no motivation beyond reading the script loud. martin sheen is terrible it feels like they're there just to fill the runtime of a of the movie. The actors have no motivation beyond reading the script loud. martin sheen is terrible 1/10

Had more good moments that not so good ones, and the old guys still add some texture to the movie. Too many movies nowadays are way over the top drama and shallow phony bad-asses. Sit back and just enjoy the movie.