The Girl

Sullen, rebellious Ashley Colton (Abbie Cornish) works in a south Texas supermarket, trying to earn enough money to retrieve her 5-year-old son (Austin Wayne West) from foster care. Upset by an unexpected visit to her disheveled trailer by a child-welfare worker, Ashley accompanies her cynical truck-driver father (Will Patton) over the border to his home in Nuevo Laredo for a tequila-drenched night in Mexico. Here, she learns that he has become a “coyote,” transporting illegal immigrants into Texas in his big rig, which gives Ashley an idea. She figures she can pick up $500 a person if she drops a handful of Mexican hopefuls on the banks of the Rio Grande (which is at its lowest level) and then retrieves them on the other side of the river with her station wagon. What she doesn't figure on is the vigilant border patrol. During the disastrous crossing, most of the immigrants are lost and Ashley is left with feisty, 6-year-old Rosa (Maritza Santiago Hernandez), whose mother drowned. Distraught, Ashley must make life-changing decisions as she bonds with the orphan. While writer-director David Riker deftly creates a plausible psychological study of a neglectful mother, he fails to elicit compassion and empathy for her plight (many of Ashley's problems are clearly of her own making). Plus, Australian actress Cornish's attempt at a Texan drawl isn't convincing. As a result, the drama's impact is diluted and the film fails to achieve the sense of spiritual redemption for which it clearly aims. Optional. (S. Granger)