Chris Munn (Jamie Bell) lives in poverty on a pig farm with his father John (Dermot Mulroney) and brother Tim in rural Drees County, Georgia. He gets shot at and arrested when he goes over to see Lila (Kristen Stewart) and breaks a window. They are visited by John's estranged brother Deel (Josh Lucas) who just got out of prison. It turns out that Deel is looking for a stash of gold coins owned by their father which he suspects was taken by John. Also John's dead wife was Deel's girlfriend to begin with.This is a slow moody southern-atmospheric movie. It takes a long time to get going. The lack of intensity in the first half of the movie is a problem. There is enough in the plot to give some tension. Then it becomes a surreal realism journey. There is a poverty chic beauty to the movie like some sort of southern parable. Jamie Bell shows some quality work. It's a bit too slow at times but it has some interesting sections.

A dad and two children live together in a house away from the city-- and away from everything. Mother died years ago and dad dealt with some problems, so he decided to live isolated from society. That's a strange thing to imagine; his sons are 10 and 18 (approximately), and it is almost impossible to live this age without friends, parties or only people to talk about something according to your age. After some while, dad's brother shows up and reveals some weird secrets. As the movie movies, even thought there's nothing too exciting for you to be entertained, directing and acting make you pay very attention to the dialogs and reactions of the cast. Sometimes actors speak too low, so you have to be entertained to understand what they're talking about. Photography directing/editing are beautiful, making this movie be very calm to watch. Unfortunately there are some violent scenes and the movie seems to reach nowhere, but it is a good time passer. Watch it only for entertainment and maybe you'll enjoy.

...that, if nothing else, confirms that auteur David Gordon Green is a director to watch. "Undertow" is a somewhat picaresque tale, of a stripe labeled Southern Gothic these days, that concerns itself with the lives of two generations of brothers, one the parent to the other. The Terrence Malick (one of the film's producers) influence is apparent, along with that of Mark Twain, Miguel de Cervantes and the like. The story is a simple one of Good betrayed and pursued by Evil, with a resolution that may leave some viewers cold, if not befuddled, but as is the case in so many similar tales, it's the journey itself and the lessons learned (or not) along the way that is the meat of things, and Green serves up a mostly satisfying meal. The acting is quite good, especially from the young leads. Jamie "Jumper" Bell is superb, proving himself once again as an immensely talented young actor with a long and successful career ahead of him, while relative newcomer Devon Alan shows good chops as Bell's younger brother. Dermot "Living in Oblivion" Mulroney and Josh "Poseidon" Lucas, as the boys' fathers, ably demonstrate their abilities with excellent performances of characters notably against type. The supporting ensemble features a number of recognizable faces, including a very brief appearance by Bill "Deliverance" McKinney ("Squeal like a pig!"), although unfortunately Kristen "Panic Room" Stewart and Shiri "Swimfan" Appleby don't get near enough screen time. Longtime Green collaborator Tim "Sex Drive" Orr handles the camera chores with great finesse and an eye for the corroded beauty of downhome Alabama. The score by Philip "Koyaanisqatsi" Glass is appropriately pastoral and foreboding as required, not his strongest work but quite serviceable. Likewise, the editing by Green collaborators Steven Gonzales and Zene Baker is good, though in my estimation marred by seemingly random freezes and fades that practically scream, "Cut to commercial!" Still, whatever minor quibbles I have, "Undertow" is a worthy rental, if not purchase, and a commendable alternative to typical Hollywood fare.

David Gordon Green explores the story in Undertow with an intention to tell the story, but there's also an intention to explore the spaces his actors inhabit, or run to, or from, and occasionally with the lyricism of a grungy street poet. This isn't to say the film is pretentious; it can be enjoyed by those who just want a good, harrowing chase movie. Yet it asks a little more for an audience complacent with the norm in Hollywood, used to the conflict being simplistic with respect to the characterizations. Its presentation calls attention to a director attempting to find the thematic beats through what could otherwise be a conventional ride. It's also no mistake to make the connection to films of the 70s, or specifically Terence Malick's austere visual approach; Malick is credited as producer, so it's bound to have some informal mark of his own somewhere.It's really a tragedy of the rural family, where a single father (Mulroney) raising two kids (Bell and Alan), the older one something of a troublemaker, constantly brought in to the cops. When the father's brother (a perfect antagonist in Lucas) gets out of prison and comes to visit, it's more than a friendly family call; greed and vengeance bring him there, and a horrible incident occurs that sends the two children running away, now with their uncle in tow. He's after some valuable old gold coins- family heirlooms or sacred Mexican lot, depending on what story is to be believed- and nothing will stop him. Meanwhile, the two kids (the younger of the two pretty sick most often) are left to their own devices, looking for work, hiding in junkyards, or with the help of fellow underworld travelers.Aside from that, which is the basic plot, a lot of Undertow sways between tense and taut drama and action, with a couple of really visceral fights and bits of violence, and an understated character study. There's the performances that feel right in the thick of it, with Bell giving it all in a breakout role. But it's just... hard to explain the sensibility that gives this an edge over other dramas out there. The setting is one thing, where for the most part (with a few exceptions) Green doesn't succumb to total clichés with these southern hobos and backwoods folk (or, at the least, there's a humanism caught by having what would appear to be non-actors in roles like convenience store clerks and tow-truck drivers). And also it's the cinematography, which is clear and cool and hand-held for some subjective impact, plus the eerie, unusual score by Philip Glass.All of these punctuations on a story that is dark and compelling are abound, but it's also this bond between the two brothers, and the memories that they share and how memories in general work into the narrative, that score Green success. It's about mood as much as plot, about sorrow and anger and fear and all these things, and it's never something to scoff as too artsy-fartsy. It's just about right.