So un-flashy that it seems more like a play, John Sayles’ Western noir sees two old friends on a mission to rescue a young man from the clutches of Chinese smugglers in Mexico. But the element that really makes it work — when it does, which is not always — is Edward James Olmos, playing to perfection a weary retired police detective who accompanies the duo into the dark heart of Tijuana (“a theme park of bad behavior”) and beyond.
Bernice (LisaGay Hamilton), a no-nonsense Texas parole officer, enlists her parolee Fontayne (Yolonda Ross) — a high school pal whose path diverged from hers — to help track down her missing son, who’s gotten himself mixed up with the wrong element.
Sayles’ dustily atmospheric film is a scavenger hunt that sees the trio moving from one shady source to the next. It’s a deftly scripted parade of low-key character studies; just don’t expect too much from the plot, which feels like an afterthought.