Two of our best actors elevate this gritty contemporary Western about a retired Arizona sheriff (Ed Harris) and a Mexican border-crosser (Michael Peña) falsely accused in the death of the older man’s wife.
The Mexican leaves his pregnant wife (a de-glamorized Eva Longoria) on a regular basis to sneak into the US through the sheriff’s ranch looking for work.
One day he and a companion (Michael Ray Escamilla) run across the sheriff’s sympathetic wife (Amy Madigan, Harris’ real-life spouse), who dies in an accident caused by local white teen snipers.
The new sheriff’s son was involved, so there is a rush to judgment against the Mexican — at least until the dead woman’s husband decides to get involved.
At the same time, Michael Berry’s “Frontera” offers an unsparing look at the plight of illegal immigrants, even if the ending seems too patly convenient.