Frontera

source: Frontera

Miguel Ramirez (Michael Peña) crosses the border illegally leaving behind his wife Paulina (Eva Longoria) and family. Miguel and his annoying traveling companion Jose encounter helpful rancher Olivia McNary (Amy Madigan). She dies from an accidental fall off her horse when three local teens shoot at the illegals. Her husband and former sheriff Roy (Ed Harris) arrives assuming Miguel to be her killer. I like the premise and the start. It might work even better if the primary incident is left with a bit of mystery. I was concerned that Roy seems to ignore the gunshots at first but that can be explained away with the shock of his lost. Ultimately, the story has lots of drama but little tension. It's lacking the mystery which could supply the tension of discovery. Roy figures it out too quickly and Miguel is left without the tension of dire danger. Then there is the nameless vigilante. The movie would be better without him and the final scene is too convenient by half. I rather have more effort put into the three boys' story. This is worthwhile but in need of more tension.

Frontera (2014) Part of me says: any movie that helps our understanding of the real illegal immigration situation from Mexico should be watched. This does that. The problem is made immediate and intimate, and you are meant to understand both sides of the issue. It also avoids for awhile the sensationalism of lots of these cross- border dramas. A young man crosses into Arizona in one of those remote areas where it seems possible to sneak through and walk away. Some American kids taking pot shots at him with a high powered rifle end up accidentally killing an American woman on her horse (she falls off when the horse is spooked) and the immigrant becomes the main suspect. This all happens early in the movie, and it is the dead woman's husband, played by Ed Harris, who holds up the other half of the movie. We follow then the Mexican (played by Michael Peña) as he flees and encounters "justice" (and later his wife, played by Eva Longoria arrives to help him). And we follow Harris who steadfastly digs into what really happened. So there is plenty of drama here (one reviewer on rotten tomatoes said this had no drama, and that is completely false—just wait until you get to the coyotes kidnapping people). And yet there is a sense of balance, that there are good guys and bad guys and misapprehensions on both sides. You might say this makes the movie too balanced, so it lacks punch, but instead I think it has depth, which is better. It's imperfect, for sure, as things get wrapped up and plots become increasingly intertwined. But overall I found it strong and well intentioned. And well acted, set in some genuine looking arroyos and deserts (it was filmed in New Mexico).

Good thing about Frontera: It has Ed Harris. And he plays his part decent. But everyone else's performance is somewhere between below average and bad. The story is weak, missing any tension or suspense. Former sheriff loses his wife on an incident, because some teenagers where playing with guns to scare away mexicans. One of the mexicans gets caught and blamed for murder. The mexicans wife travels to save him but ends as a hostage for ransom. That could be exciting or at least sad, but the characters remain very shallow and you don't feel like taking part in their misery and struggle, left aside feel any concern for them. Then the mexicans wife is freed, they find the shells and confront a teenager, who start crying and confesses instantly. What a twist! The only real surprise was that Ed Harris talked with the teenagers father, showing some understanding for the fact that it was actually only a very unfortunate accident. To sum up: Can a good actor alone carry a otherwise weak movie? He can try. And it prevents the movie from being terrible. But it's also far from good. Not even average. Frontera left me with the feeling that it wasn't really worth the time.