Texas Killing Fields

Directed by Ami Canaan Mann (Michael Mann's daughter), Texas Killing Fields focuses on two cops—transplanted New Yorker Brian Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and brash young local Mike Souder (Sam Worthington)—who are partners in Texas City, a small burg in the south of the state near a desolate area notorious as a dumping-ground for murder victims' bodies. The plot revolves around several interconnected events: the killing of a prostitute, the disappearance of a young woman, and the truancy of Annie Sliger (Chloë Grace Moretz), a preteen living in a dingy hovel with her alcoholic drug addict mother (Sheryl Lee), as well as a strung-out uncle and his intense, quietly sinister buddy. Also implicated in the homicide are a pimp and his colleague, the latter a tattooed brute who coasts around in a souped-up car. Although the film eventually answers questions about the murder, it does so in a shambling, elliptical way that leaves conspicuous loose ends at the close. Ultimately, the strong cast is left playing clichéd roles in a film that feels like a glorified TV movie. Optional. [Note: Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Ami Canaan Mann and writer Donald F. Ferrarone. Bottom line: a decent extras package for an uneven film.] (F. Swietek)