Bill's Law

All the way through I watched Forest Whitaker with glee, making me want his character to keep going in-spite of all the challenges he faced. The acting from all those involved was marvelous and although the story is not new, ex-con tries to go straight, the variations where enough to make it interesting. Playing his parole officer, I found Brenda Blethyn's characterisation quite refreshing and not what I'm familiar with from her previous roles. Harvey Keitel does a wonderful job playing the sheriff, who starts on the familiar path of persecution of Garnett, but seems to have second thoughts towards the end of the film. I suppose the start of the movie makes you wonder who is having their head bashed in and that stays with you till the end, but it's the downfall of Garnett and his acceptance of it, that affected me the most. I expected him to give in to his old ways, but half expected some sort of showdown, which is what made the film more a reflection of real life, when it didn't happen. A lesser man would have given in entirely to his criminal past, a greater man perhaps would have asked for more help from the authorities. As it happens Garnett, like the rest of us, is something in between. I was therefore left with a feeling of disappointment tinged with sadness at Garnett's actions and their inevitability in that situation. All together a splendid movie.

Though the script is somewhat plodding, the film has a genuine quality to it. Forest Whitaker is good as the tormented parolee. Harvey Keitel plays the revenge seeking sheriff. It is Brenda Blethyn however who steals every scene she is in, as Whitaker's parole officer. I would agree that not much happens in this film, yet it is it's low key performances that keep the viewer intrigued. The cast is first rate. In addition to Whitaker, Keitel, and Blethyn, Luis Guzman and Ellen Burstyn also are quite good. If there is a problem, it is with the ending, which is somewhat unresolved, and hangs uncomfortably. I should also mention that the extra on the DVD titled Fences", is very interesting and timely. The interviews with border residents, for and against the border wall, are very informative. - MERK

Not many movies/performances/actors compel me to spend the time to write a review that can be read by many others here but if you are a lover of film and the art of acting, you can't help but be completely overtaken by a performance like the one given by Forest Whitaker. Say what you will about the plot whether you like it or agree with the storyline, you can't help but feel for Forest's character. It's easy for us looking in from the outside on someone like the character Forest plays, someone who is trying to turn his life around and live a normal life but to those who have a direct connection to his crimes (Harvey's character), it's a completely different story. There is no question Forest's performance carries this movie from beginning to end and if you love the art of film making and know and understanding acting, you owe yourself to watch this movie.

Not the best film but worth seeing if you've nothing else to do. Whitaker is excellent throughout but the ending was very dissapointing.

Impressive. Foreboding atmosphere throughout. Unusual setting (New Mexico). Great acting from great actors. Loved the music. An intelligent film about justice for (black) people.

Forest Whitaker plays recent parolee in New Mexico who did hard time for killing a deputy officer; he's hoping to restart his life but locks horns with Harvey Keitel as the five-times-reelected sheriff who believes Whitaker is "a loose cannon." Mild French-Belgian-Algerian-US co-production, a remake of the 1973 French-Italian version, seems to be on a well-trodden dramatic path--a battle-of-wills between the two protagonists--and yet it doesn't even follow through on this angle (it's too limp). The picture is really just an updated western with new-fangled overtures to Allah, and Keitel's badass sheriff is a character we've seen him do before on better occasions. Brenda Blethyn upstages both men as Whitaker's parole officer. ** from ****

José Giovanni often found inspiration in his own life for his screenplays :he knew jail as the sound of his own name and he was once sentenced to death.His "Deux Hommes Dans La Ville" was first a plea against death penalty (after André Cayatte's "Nous Sommes Tous Des Assassins "(1952) and Claude Lelouch's "La Vie L'Amour La Mort " (1968)).The end of his movie depicted an execution in lavish details,with the sinister guillotine.This finale has remained memorable . Whitaker takes on Alain Delon's part ,Dolorès Heredia Mimsy Farmer's ,and Harvey Keitel Michel Bouquet's.The probation officer who was a man in the French movie(Jean Gabin)with a whole family ,including a "May 68 " son,becomes a bachelor (which is perhaps a mistake ,cause the French hero becomes friend with all of them and it urges him to have his own family) vigorous woman. As the background is entirely different from Paris,I had not even established the connection between the two movies ,although the sheriff reminded me of his French equivalent.And I was amazed when I noticed that the human officer -who tries in vain to let a terminally-ill man return and die in his native Ohio- listened to French singer Barbara . Whitaker gives one of the most restrained performances of his career,most of the time straight-faced ,even when he is humiliated : in jail ,the convict often redeems himself by finding Bible and Jesus :here ,maybe influenced by Malcolm X or Mohammed Ali,he found Allah ,but it does not make a big difference .Keitel's part is not very interesting,being repetitive and finally dull:the actor deserved better material.On the other hand,Brenda Blethyn makes all her scenes count. Mrs Burstyn's short appearance is ,as usual,a lesson in acting ,but is she really credible as the hero's mom? The desolate landscapes near the Mexican border are at least as impressive as the urban background of the French movie.It enhances Garnett's longing for a simple life ,and his desire to have a wife and children.That the ex-prisoner finds his sweetheart as soon as he is out of jail is somewhat unlikely,but it was already one of the flaws of the French model (Mimsy Farmer was also a bank employee in Paris). This is not for action-packed movies buffs;it is actually more austere and slow-moving than Giovanni's original movie ;violence is kept to the minimum and sex is almost absent;it's certainly underrated,although the raison d'être of the 1972 version is wasted . NB:As "Deux Hommes Dans La Ville" was a huge success in France,the title of the remake was changed into " La Voie De L'Ennemi" (the enemy's way)

Greetings again from the darkness. Director Rachid Bouchareb, a long time festival favorite, has taken the general story of writer/director Jose Giovanni's 1973 film of the same title and relocated it from France to a New Mexico border town. It touches on many elements such as rehabilitation of criminals, small town justice, human personality traits, freedom and justice, and conversion to Islam. Opening with the silhouette of a brutal murder against the sunset in a New Mexico desert, the film has a western feel replete with the sense of doom and impending showdown. Forest Whitaker stars as Garnett, a paroled man who has just been released after serving 18 years for killing a deputy. Despite a life of crime that began when he was 11 years old, Garnett was a model prisoner who obtained his GED and mentored others while becoming a converted Muslim. His words make it clear he wants to put his old life behind and start fresh – however, his actions show he still struggles with explosive anger issues. In a move that seems counterintuitive, Garnett is confined while on parole to the county in which he killed the deputy. The local sheriff (Harvey Keitel … who else would it be?) sets about making things difficult for Garnett, and expresses anger at his release while the "deputy is still dead". The idealistic parole officer is played by Brenda Blethyn, so the stage is set for the clash of philosophies: trust and rehabilitation vs historical behavior and justice. Adding one more challenge to Garnett's new world is the presence of his old crime boss played by Luis Guzman, who of course, wants him back in the business. While many folks all over the globe struggle endlessly to find love; Garnett is 2 days out of prison when he falls for the local banker played by Delores Heredia. Herein lies the problems with the movie. The love connection just happens too quickly. Guzman is never the ominous presence of a truly bad guy. Keitel only gets to offer glimpses of his disgust at Garnett's freedom. These three characters are all severely underwritten despite the efforts of three fine actors. If not for the terrific performance of Forest Whitaker, the film would fall totally flat. It's his screen presence that keeps us watching, hoping against all odds that he will find the peace he so desperately seeks. There is a wonderful scene with Whitaker and Ellen Burstyn, and a couple of the scenes with Whitaker and Blethyn are powerful, but the other pieces just never pack the punch necessary for this one to fully click.

I just have finished to watch this film and it was quite good. Probably best Witaker role in years. He looks great on this movie. It is a slow good film. Harvey is quite good too. On the other hand the ending was open to imagination. I do not like how it ends. That is all.

"Two Men in Town" (2014)" is a brilliant blend of acting, directing, cinematography and setting. Why isn't this film better known? It's a real sleeper that ranks up there with series noir classics of the US Southwest -- from "Bad Day At Black Rock" (1955) through "No Country For Old Men" (2007). Yet one can see why this gets a low IMDb rating, probably low US Box Office too. This is not a happy film. This is not sunny, funny New Mexico. Another "Milagro Beanfield War" with a magically satisfying ending. "Two Men in Town" is richer; traditional and innovative at the same time. Acting A+; equally the DP work. This is both Cop Show and Western. Bigger than a single genre. Here be the desert -- of the soul. Here be echoes of Camus' "The Stranger". Here be an austere foreboding world from which man or woman cannot escape. God has left. Check it out. Good luck.