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Texas Killing Fields (2011)

Director: Ami Canaan Mann

Time Out rating

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2 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Being the daughter of a major moviemaker has its advantages. Having attempted solo flight with her low-budget 2001 debut ‘Morning’, it’s taken Ami Canaan Mann ten years – and the presence of dad Michael in the producer’s chair – to get to this sophomore effort. Luckily, she does a bang-up job of directing this intriguing but scattershot ‘based on real events’ police procedural. The place is Texas City, a gritty, blue collar desert town where tough-talking cops Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Sam Worthington are on the trail of a murderer who has been dumping bodies in the nearby swamp. ‘Texas Killing Fields’ is a film of great moments – a nail-biting home invasion, a seedy cameo from Stephen Graham, just about any of the scenes featuring Jessica Chastain’s aggressively no-bullshit detective – which never quite coalesces into a satisfying whole. The plot is bitty and sometimes hard to follow, and the conclusion is rushed and predictable. But as solid Saturday night entertainment goes, this is a consistently compelling, enjoyably old school potboiler.

Author: Tom Huddleston

Time Out London Issue 2147: 13 – 19 October 2011

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User reviews of this film

Pia said...

Posted on Oct 21 2011 09:43 I saw this yesterday at Cineworld, and yes there is a double plot and leads to nothing! nothing makes sense and the suspence leads to nothing too! best acting from the dog! oh and did anyone notice the bearded cop with a black eye, just before he was in a brawl? look closely, they made up a black eye too soon! on the whole, a very cheap looking budget movie and terrible story line, leaving you, at the end thinking W.T.F.? looking forward to the remake of, THE THING!

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critique said...

Posted on Oct 17 2011 13:11 Not as good as it could have been. Lots of promise and plenty of atmosphere but all too often confusingly and disjointedly plotted. Characters aren`t developed sufficiently and key story points are muddled. Resembles a work in progress; half a film if you like.

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