Part Western, part character study, Tommy Lee Jones' directorial debut is all disappointing. The plot moves at a snail's pace, and the constant shifts in time are at first intriguing but soon become wearisome. The big problem is that at film's end, you can't help but get the feeling that the proceedings end up being rather pointless. Sure, Barry Pepper's wholly unlikeable Border Patrolman has learned a few things but so what? Who cares whether such a irritating character gains something of knowledge about himself? We never cared about his plight in the first place.

Grade - D

Realism and grittiness in film usually doesn't do a lot for me, but I really liked it here. Jones's relatively strong direction complements the film's staid, melancholy tone, which I thought really worked. I did think Jones, though, at times tried a little too hard to imbue his film with extra, unnecessary drama -- the blind man, confusion over Melquiades's backstory, etc. -- and sacrificed some of the development that could have given us more insight into Pete. At the end, I didn't really buy that he would have been so broken as to do what he did.

B