Review of Texas Killing Fields (2011) by Garry L — 27 Oct 2011

As debuts by leading American directors' daughters go, it's inevitably less disastrous than Jennifer Lynch's "Boxing Helena": the handling of the dead girls, and the character of the female detective, suggest tentative stabs at a vaguely feminist cinema, even in this cut they extend only to the superficial business of having Chastain, who seems incredibly delicate for a detective, clench her teeth and shout "goddamn" a lot.

As an actors' piece, it's compromised by the fact Morgan (a TV player) and Worthington (the least compelling of the new wave of Australian actors, and lucky indeed to have had "Avatar" on his CV) make a resolutely undynamic duo, grinding through such rote policier sidebars as a missing gun and a vulnerable teen (Moretz) who needs protection.

And as a murder-mystery, "Texas Killing Fields" doesn't work because the narrative either plods or jumps, in a way that suggests heavy editing, and eventually resolves itself in a manner that reduces the notional heroes to hapless bystanders.

Generally unremarkable, after the manner of many a true-crime TV movie, though it's possible Mann jr. may be rebelling against the expectations of her family name by shooting a film with next to no visual style whatsoever.

In any event, it's a waste of a perfectly good title.