Good acting, as you'd expect given the cast. Visually nice too. Sadly that's it, pretty pointless movie.

Greetings again from the darkness. Director Rachid Bouchareb, a long time festival favorite, has taken the general story of writer/director Jose Giovanni's 1973 film of the same title and relocated it from France to a New Mexico border town. It touches on many elements such as rehabilitation of criminals, small town justice, human personality traits, freedom and justice, and conversion to Islam.Opening with the silhouette of a brutal murder against the sunset in a New Mexico desert, the film has a western feel replete with the sense of doom and impending showdown. Forest Whitaker stars as Garnett, a paroled man who has just been released after serving 18 years for killing a deputy. Despite a life of crime that began when he was 11 years old, Garnett was a model prisoner who obtained his GED and mentored others while becoming a converted Muslim. His words make it clear he wants to put his old life behind and start fresh – however, his actions show he still struggles with explosive anger issues.In a move that seems counterintuitive, Garnett is confined while on parole to the county in which he killed the deputy. The local sheriff (Harvey Keitel … who else would it be?) sets about making things difficult for Garnett, and expresses anger at his release while the "deputy is still dead". The idealistic parole officer is played by Brenda Blethyn, so the stage is set for the clash of philosophies: trust and rehabilitation vs historical behavior and justice. Adding one more challenge to Garnett's new world is the presence of his old crime boss played by Luis Guzman, who of course, wants him back in the business.While many folks all over the globe struggle endlessly to find love; Garnett is 2 days out of prison when he falls for the local banker played by Delores Heredia. Herein lies the problems with the movie. The love connection just happens too quickly. Guzman is never the ominous presence of a truly bad guy. Keitel only gets to offer glimpses of his disgust at Garnett's freedom. These three characters are all severely underwritten despite the efforts of three fine actors.If not for the terrific performance of Forest Whitaker, the film would fall totally flat. It's his screen presence that keeps us watching, hoping against all odds that he will find the peace he so desperately seeks. There is a wonderful scene with Whitaker and Ellen Burstyn, and a couple of the scenes with Whitaker and Blethyn are powerful, but the other pieces just never pack the punch necessary for this one to fully click.

My summary line making the point that this is a remake many years removed from its (french) original. I haven't watched the original, so I cannot tell you how the two movies compare. I can only judge this by its own merits (and faults). What I can say, is that Whitaker is giving an excellent performance. It's also nice to see Harvey Keitel in a bigger role, even if it sometimes turns a bit comic evil, he has the gravitas to pull it in.The age old question within this movie is: can we escape our pasts? Can we change and become someone/something different? Can we ever truly repent and is there such a thing as forgiveness? Those are heavy topics and the movie does not stay away from other topics as well (like religion, though it's not really made a big strong point, other than being there). You can tell early on, if this is the kind of "entertainment" you like to watch or not ... the rhythm/pace stays the same throughout (occasional outbursts excluded)

As a remake of the Jose Giovanni's film made forty years ago, this movie is a true achievement. A superb crime drama that would be better than the genuine material. The characters are all very well shown: good and evil ones as well. I particularly love the female parole officer. I fell for her in the first minutes, in the sequence where she cleans her Glock up, whilst listening a Barbara song. So cute. Yes, yes, I love this character, so unusual, so lonely too, who fights with all her guts for what she believes in. Her character reminds me some ones from the Coen brothers' films. Remember FARGO.Besides, Tommy Lee Jones could have made this film. The settings, characters, way of filming, everything here reminds me Tommy Lee Jones. A true poignant film, devastating, that hit you in the face. And, once and for all, Forrest Whitaker is one of the best actor in the world, and unfortunately too often underrated.