Frontera

Writer-director Michael Berry's sometimes heavy-handed film stars Ed Harris as a grieving widower who sets aside his own pain to find out the truth about his wife's death. Harris plays Roy, the retired sheriff of an Arizona border county, whose wife is killed during an encounter with Miguel (Michael Peña), a Mexican crossing into the country illegally. Miguel is being accused of the crime by the current sheriff, but Roy is unconvinced, initiating an investigation of his own that leads to a different culprit—a teen who was trying to frighten Miguel by shooting at him, one who also happens to have important family ties. Roy will also become involved in helping to rescue Miguel's pregnant wife (Eva Longoria), who is victimized by the lustful coyote she paid to bring her across the border in order to aid her husband. Unfortunately, Frontera insistently hammers home its message about the violence that is fed by mindless prejudice, and the need for good people to stand up against it. But it benefits from both a gritty visual style that makes aesthetic use of the barren locations, and honest, unforced performances that offset the more preachy script elements. Thanks especially to Harris, this is a dramatically arresting if also uneven film. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)