Review of Texas Killing Fields (2011) by Thomas W — 03 Mar 2012

I'm going to say that Texas Killing Fields is "interesting enough" to keep one's attention and merit a watch. It might feel like a southern rehash of some of the crime dramas and procedurals we've seen before; but this one stands out because of its impressive cast and gritty depiction of poverty.

Said-to-be-inspired by real life Texas events, the "Fields" are a string of marshlands (mazes) in which are commonly found dead bodies of young women near Texas City, Texas. Investigating the most recent discovery is a young female detective Pam Stall (played by who else in 2011 other than Jessica Chastain - The Help, The Debt, The Tree of Life, Coriolanus .

..) who seeks help from fellow detective Brian Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan - Watchmen, PS I Love You, The Losers). The two problems are that these Fields are outside of Heigh's jurisdiction and he is the partner of Pam's ex-husband, Mike Souder (Sam Worthington - Avatar, The Debt, Terminator: Salvation).

And complicating issues slightly more is Heigh's concern for a local, unwanted waif of a girl, Anne (a very good Chloe Grace Moretz - Hugo, Kick-Ass, Let Me In), who's deadbeat mother (an unrecognizable Sheryl Lee from Twin Peaks fame!) pals around with various bad-news men.

The story goes in a couple of different directions as our detectives each follow leads ... and it unfolds evenly and my concern for each of the characters was true. Seeing the sparkly, little diamonds glued onto her fingernails early-on in the film made me dread what would happen to little Anne (one woman is identified by her fingers) as Moretz has become quite the engaging actress.

The film's director is Ami Canaan Mann ... and cinephiles should recognize that last name! She is none other than master director Michael Mann's daughter ... and I do believe she shows some style and promise here.

She isn't as good as her father; but I see talent and am interested in following her career after this.