Frontera, 2014.
Directed by Michael Berry.
Starring Ed Harris, Michael Peña, Eva Longoria, Amy Madigan, Aden Young and Seth Adkins.
SYNOPSIS:
An illegal Mexican immigrant gets accused of murdering the wife of a former sheriff while crossing the border into Arizona.
In an effort to seek a better life in America, two Mexicans take a well-known passageway for illegal immigrants to Arizona where they encounter a woman riding a horse. Pleasantries are exchanged between them and they go their separate ways only to be fatally brought together again. Three high school boys have some fun shooting at the new arrivals in an effort to scare them away only to accidentally kill the lady who turns out to be the wife of a former sheriff. One of the Mexicans gets charged with the murder; however, the husband of the victim begins his own investigation as he has doubts about the guilt of man being held in custody.
Someone like John Sayles (Lone Star) is going to have to come with a project that brings together Ed Harris and Tommy Lee Jones who have only worked together on the TV movie The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977); both actors have a deep love for Westerns and a fascination with the social circumstances surrounding illegal immigrants from Mexico, whether it be Jones appearing in The Three Burials of Melquiades (2005) and Harris in Frontera. It is not a favourable picture painted of Americans as locals take to firing real bullets at defenceless human beings as a form of recreation. However, the Mexicans can also be cruel to their own, especially when vicious smugglers are involved.
The cinematography makes great use of the New Mexico locations which are desolate, vast, and beautiful. There is a leisurely pass to the cinematic proceedings which combines elements of mystery, high school peer pressure, and social consciousness into a Western that despite the modern setting is not all that different from the Old Wild West when it comes to attitudes and behaviours. Ed Harris conveys a quiet dignity throughout and Michael Peña (Fury) does an admirable job portraying an honest man seeking a better life for him and his family. The trouble is that the high school students are more two dimensional characters and rather than providing a unique perspective on the subject matter, the tale feels like familiar territory.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★★★/ Movie: ★★
Following its world premiere at the 2014 USA Film Festival, Frontera opens in theatres in Canada September 26, 2014, from Video Services Corp.
Originally published September 20, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
