The Slaughter Rule

Twin brother filmmakers Alex and Andrew Smith's debut feature sports an authentic sense of place (rural Montana) and two strong lead performances in up-and-comer Ryan Gosling as Roy, a high school senior "ranch kid," and David Morse, who costars as "Gid," the local newspaper vendor who recruits Roy to quarterback his six-man football squad (but appears to have more than a pigskin-related interest in Roy). The Slaughter Rule ultimately drops the ball, however, thanks to a muddled script, clichéd characters, and the miscasting of Kelly Lynch as Gosling's newly widowed mother (Roy's father is killed in a mysterious train accident). Several subplots vie for attention revolving around Clea DuVall as a barmaid with a heart of gold, Eddie Spears as Roy's abused best friend Tracey Two Dogs, and David Cale as an alcoholic country singer. The title, which refers to a football rule that ends the contest if a team falls behind by 45 points, gets a heavy symbolic workout. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by co-writers/co-directors Andrew and Alex Smith, a three-minute “Afterthought” featurette where the Smith twins talk about the origins of the film, two minutes of mystifying “Snapshot Diaries” from the Sundance Film Festival, nine extended/deleted scenes, three “Scenes From the Sundance Lab” developed at the Sundance Institute's Writing and Filmmaking Lab, and a DVD-ROM weblink. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a somewhat disappointing film.] (K. Lee Benson)