Not to be confused with The Killing Fields (1984)
We’re treated to a great cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington and Chloë Grace Moretz. I won’t dwell on them too much, as they’re all spot on. I knew the main trio were in it, but what a surprise and pleasure it was to see Chloë again.
The director, Ami Canaan Mann, also made Jackie & Ryan (2014), a film about a folk musician meeting a country star, starring Katherine Heigl, Ben Barnes, Clea Duvall and even Sheryl Lee!
This film isn’t bad at all. Yes, in fact, I rather enjoyed it. But once again, fans of action, suspense and gratuitous violence will be bored stiff. It’s more of a police drama than a proper thriller. So… you’ve been warned!
Well, I don’t think these are the sort of films that leave a lasting impression or necessarily make you want to watch them again (unless it’s to fully understand them), but they certainly succeeded in capturing my attention and entertaining me. I do love Jeffrey Dean Morgan, but I don’t watch many films starring Jessica Chastain, as most of her roles seem too complex or overly political to me. I wasn’t keen on Sam Worthington in the remakes Clash of the Titans (2010) and Wrath of the Titans (2012). Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of the Avatar films (2009, 2022 and 2025) either. One of my favourite films starring him is Fracture (2019), although I was a bit disappointed by the ending.
To sum it all up:
One immediately senses the influence of her father’s artistic sensibility in this fine debut film directed by Ami Canaan Mann. Just like her father, Michael Mann, she is adept at analysing and portraying the psychological turmoil of her characters. By leaving the plot somewhat vague and large swathes of it in the shadows, she draws the viewer in and allows them to connect directly with the characters, such as the then-little-known Jeffrey Dean Morgan – though he is far better known now! He is impressive in the role of this paternalistic, Catholic New York cop, whom we imagine has been transferred to Texas City following a professional setback in New York. His taciturn and nervous colleague, Sam Worthington, a native Texan, deeply detests certain aspects of his country and its people, yet is fully in control of the stifling and dangerous environment in which he operates. The very young Chloë Grace Moretz plays the lost teenager convincingly, abandoned by a mother who has hit rock bottom in her struggle to survive as best she can. And finally, the female revelation of 2011 was Jessica Chastain, who manages to bring a little light into these dark ‘Killing Fields’.
A crime thriller that takes us down some very winding paths alongside its three detectives! It feels a bit like something we’ve seen before, but it’s not quite the same – and I think that’s really down to the actors and the script, which draws you in as you follow their journey. Admittedly, the investigation is only moderately interesting and not the most straightforward (it’s a bit easy to get lost amongst all the victims’ names, though it would still be worth watching a second time), with its only real appeal lying in the fascinating geographical setting in which it unfolds: the humid, wild bayous of the southern United States, which are reminiscent of other works. The problem is that this highly cinematic setting is ultimately underused here. Worthington keeps saying that these expanses are lawless, merciless no-man’s-lands frequented by unsavoury characters, but, alas, this isn’t visible or felt on screen.
Be that as it may, for me, it’s quite a pleasant surprise!
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