Border Run

A female American reporter (Sharon Stone) searches for her missing brother (Billy Zane) against the backdrop of violence and human smuggling across the United States / Mexico border.

The key to remember in this film is that, as is said twice, the issue of the border is "not that simple". Any political stand on the issue has to be very nuanced or probably uninformed. I am not going to even try to explain where the arguments on many sides of the issue go wrong, as that is a book in itself.

And that is how I have to frame this film. I feel like it generally has a sympathetic view towards illegal immigration. And, indeed, there is reason to feel that way -- if my life could be substantially improved by crossing an imaginary line, I would probably consider doing it, too. But that ignores the importance of a strong border: keeping threats out and formalizing the citizenship process.

Yet, if the point of the film was to spark debate, I suppose it may succeed there. Immigration and border control is not an all or nothing issue, and there is much worthy of debate in these topics. Are we morally obligated to help improve people's lives? Or perhaps we are more obligated to ensure a strong homeland defense?

Sadly, Billy Zane (6-foot-2-inches of pure bad-butt) has far too little screen time and Sharon Stone is well past her acting prime. She was not a strong lead, and whoever decided to give her that terrible hair just made her more distracting than necessary.

As most of the reviews on this film state, the film has great potential but falls short due to certain performances. Border Run does a great job at depicting just what crossing the border entails for many illegal immigrants.

However, Sharon Stone does not deliver at all. She is both over-dramatic and detached from her character. The acting may actually bring out a chuckle in what is certainly not a comedic movie.

All the blame cannot be put on Stone as it is the director's job to, well, direct the actors' performances. Tagliavini not only misses this mark with Stone but also with the story-line. Certain areas that warrant more time and detail are simply brushed over and some that should be short and to-the-point are dragged out for simple shock value.

It is in my opinion and those who watched it with me: This was a great story line with many twists and surprises, and even a satisfying ending, that was completely ruined by bad acting and even worse directing.

Border Run is a film, as you would imagine, about people crossing the border from Mexico to the USA. A US reporter (Sharon Stone) seeks to find her brother (Billy Zane), who has been working for a relief organisation in Mexico, after he disappears. She uncovers the illegal world of border crossing gangs and drug runners.

The storyline of the film is quite reasonable and the film takes a very gritty look at the border crossing, those who are trying to help and those who are trying to get rich.

Stone is the lead role and she does not deliver. With a different actress the film could have been much better. Stone is just not believable and, at times, I found her performance almost embarrassing. However, other performances are good and sympathy is generated for the harsh and horrific experience that those who seek to cross the US border face.

Worth a watch? Probably not.

Border Run is a bare-bones, gritty, raw film about a very serious topic. Sharon Stone must have chosen to endure this demanding role to support the film's effort to show the incredibly inhumane treatment of illegal aliens on both sides of the border. It forces the viewer to confront the real human suffering caused by the enforcement of the Mexican/American border and the criminals who take advantage of desperate people. With few words and an emphasis on clear-cut situations, the script is effective without putting its themes into unnecessary comments by the characters. Some of the supporting actors are so immersed in their roles that it is hard to realize they are not actually these unfortunate people. This is one of those real-life stories that plays out like a movie, with twists and turns, but is true nonetheless. It certainly deserves a better overall rating than 4.2.

Sharon Stone plays an American reporter crossing the US/Mexico border in order to search for her missing brother. "Border Run" pretends to be a hard hitting expose about human trafficking, but it's really just a dumb, boring, revenge thriller. I'm fine with ripped-from-the-headlines topics being dropped into exploitations films (i.e. everything from racial topics in blaxploitation, to serial killer biopics, to biker pictures), and they can even become brilliant in some cases ("M," "Targets," or "Rope"), but this film's main offense is that it wasn't all that interesting either on a story or character level. Stone is too good of an actress to be slumming in garbage like this. Billy Zane on the other hand, with few exceptions, seems to have made a career out of slumming in garbage like this. Overall, there's really no reason to watch this film. If you want a revenge/thriller, there are much better ones out there. If you want a topical film about US/Mexico immigration or about human trafficking, there are much better ones out there as well.