(40%) An off-kilter modern-day film noir that fails to hit the target despite the brilliant Tommy Lee Jones in the driving seat, good supporting cast, and decent production values.What is most frustrating about this miss-step though is the fact it takes its inspiration from all those great crime thrillers of the post war years, yet instead of taking a fresh spin on them it copies the lesser qualities with a slacker pacing that negatively effected certain films of that era without a great deal of the better elements. When even Lee Jones struggles to spark much interest in what is going on you just know things aren't quite right here. This though isn't a bad film it just really needed more guts and quality on the page.

This is the 2nd time trying to watch this movie. Both times I have given up after about 30 minutes. It's just so amateur. I'll lay the blame squarely at the Director, Bertrand Tavernier. I found the direction, the dialogue, the plot and even the editing badly executed. I sat there watching actors acting, which is not right. Nothing was believable and a hackneyed plot to boot. 4/10 is all it's worth. This just proves that TV is where drama is God these days. I have to right 10 lines to review this tedious movie. Boy that's an ask. OK. Even Mr Goodman's character and his cronies are some comic book version of the movie industry. Tommy Lee looks old and tired. Probably he aged quickly realising that his agent needs to work for that 10% a bit harder next time. Go watch some Coen Bros films instead folks!

Lt. Dave Robicheaux (Tommy Lee Jones) is investigating a dead body found by movie stars Elrod Sykes (Peter Sarsgaard) and his girlfriend Kelly Drummond (Kelly Macdonald). They're filming a Civil War film. Robicheaux is reminded of a black man he saw murdered as a teen.There are a lot of great actors trying to play southern. Director Bertrand Tavernier just doesn't have the skills to bring an intensity to the movie. He also doesn't have the touch to bring out the local flavors. That might be all the big Hollywood actors, and the unimaginative locations. The closest he gets is casting Buddy Guy and having him play some music. The story is a slow prodding march. The clues aren't illuminating to solve the murder mystery. The only good thing here is watching Tommy Lee Jones in action. At the end of the movie, I wasn't even sure who they're after.

Dave Robicheaux is a no-nonsense detective(... why, yes, that is Tommy Lee Jones' role, however did you guess? He does fine with what he's given to work with, and is enjoyable to watch), simultaneously investigating a serial killer who targets prostitutes and a 1965 lynching, and gets advice from a long-dead Confederate general who only he can see(and he doubts that the officer is indeed real). I have not read the novel this is an adaptation of, but I feel confident in asserting that it was butchered in writing this screenplay(as often happens with this sort of thing, in various ways). This is just exactly a cohesive whole, and at times, it stops short of even that. The plot feels unresolved by the end of it, and the conclusion to the mystery doesn't satisfy(assigning someone the blame for a crime in a story like this isn't enough). Characters are introduced, do little, and are treated to next to no development. The only 93 minutes of running time tend to snail away. This does give a decent look into the environment of post-Katrina New Orleans, and the race relations. There's a bunch of weird stuff that I guess is either because of what was cut from the source material, or is a cultural thing, such as all the talking about producing films in the state. This can be somewhat exciting when it tries to be, which isn't often. There is a moderate amount of strong language and bloody, violent and disturbing content, as well as brief female topless nudity. I recommend this only to big fans of the deadpan Texan. 6/10