This movie is a neglected gem, and it is a real shame that it never quite received the popular audience it deserved. A well made, genuinely tense film that plays with ideas about race and explores consequences of decisions made years before. The graphic opening is not one I can watch easily and adds an tight rope feeling to the following events. The male criminals' venality is frighteningly mundane to themselves. Cynda Williams as the broken Lila, doing what she can to help her son, brings a vulnerability to Bily Bob Thornton's character which is not enough to lessen his coldness. He appears to love her yet we all believe he would kill her without thought if his survival necessitated it. Bill Paxton's portrayal of a good ole boy, with a secret of his own is sensitive. Sympathetic enough to make us care and believe he is a fundamentally decent man, it does not shy from the reality of a man who has failed to live up to his own expectations. Using another ordinary house as the backdrop to the final bloodbath again emphasises the sadness of the story which reflects far too many broken lives. Having Dale meet his son for the first (and last?) time plays on our emotions and leaves just as many questions unanswered as have been tackled by the events and characters of the film. I wanted to know what happened afterward to the characters left behind by the physical and emotional carnage they had lived through.
Review of One False Move
