The Devil Has a Name

Since seeing Edward James Olmos in 'Stand and Deliver' way back I was impressed, so looked forward to seeing him in a movie which he co-produced/directed, and performed. To add to the interest it was claimed to be based on an actual event - the contamination of farmland by an Oil giant. Played straight this would have had promise but it seems green activist politics got involved and dragged it down a somewhat over baked, foolish path. Yes, giant multinationals have been guilty of irresponsible short-cuts, often brought about through greed and they must be held to account ensuring more ecological responsibility. The writer added another downer by including a vicious gangster whose repugnant over-the-top actions are the equivalent of a hideously brutal Gestapo Mafioso type - this pushes the story way out of reasonable acceptability and degrades much of the initial interest being offered. I'm not sure Kate Bosworth was fully convincing as she should have been playing the slimy Oil company representative and the company's headman was made to look like a caricature. If this was intended as black comedy it did not work whatsoever. As the downtrodden farmer, David Strathairn was good as always, as was Olmos as his co-worker - production values were overall OK but even though the moral situations were well-intended, the overly forced agenda-pushing script weakens any worthwhile message. Pity, as we need movies that bring important messages to the screen but in a more honest manner, this is no 'Dark Waters'. Parental Note; Heavy vulgar dialogue, violence and grotty sexual situation. Foxtel Aust ran this American R certificate as an M, when will they get it right?

Bosworth is supposedly a brilliant oil goddess that outsmarts a farmer who has had his ground water poisoned. She navigates the farmer, the illegals, and the oil company to end up sitting head of the table at the end. The storyline is fractured and the stabs at dark comedy don't really work.

Olmos like Eastwood knows precisely how to cast himself to make the most of his star power. Ditto for the rest of the players. In terms of sheer competence, head and shoulders above most of Hollywood's recent offerings. And Bosworth proves again that she is more than capable of being the only female in a film and still holding attention.

When a production is promoted to be "inspired by true events", a viewer expects actual facts. I watched this Olmos "inspired by true events" production for an hour and could only find one true event. Yes, indeed, JFK was assassinated in Dallas. Other than that, I cannot find one actual fact. It seems the screenwriter is portraying the contamination of ground water in the Imperial Valley is a result of oil production and lax oversight by California's oil production oversight boards and laws. That is not a fact but imagination. The contamination is factually based in the overuse of surface water for irrigation and being transported hundreds of miles to the overcrowded and under educated California population centers. The transport away from source never allows aquifers to recharge. This fact is never addressed, as it intersect's with Olmos' political views of the source of California's overgrowth, illegal immigration. Olmos' work here is not factual in any degree, and blazes a trail into a growing movie genre, Non-science Fiction.

Since seeing Edward James Olmos in 'Stand and Deliver' way back I was impressed, so looked forward to seeing him in a movie which he co-produced/directed, and performed. To add to the interest it was claimed to be based on an actual event - the contamination of farmland by an Oil giant. Played straight this would have had promise but it seems green activist politics got involved and dragged it down a somewhat over baked, foolish path. Yes, giant multinationals have been guilty of irresponsible short-cuts, often brought about through greed and they must be held to account ensuring more ecological responsibility. The writer added another downer by including a vicious gangster whose repugnant over-the-top actions are the equivalent of a hideously brutal Gestapo Mafioso type - this pushes the story way out of reasonable acceptability and degrades much of the initial interest being offered. I'm not sure Kate Bosworth was fully convincing as she should have been playing the slimy Oil company representative and the company's headman was made to look like a caricature. If this was intended as black comedy it did not work whatsoever. As the downtrodden farmer, David Strathairn was good as always, as was Olmos as his co-worker - production values were overall OK but even though the moral situations were well-intended, the overly forced agenda-pushing script weakens any worthwhile message. Pity, as we need movies that bring important messages to the screen but in a more honest manner, this is no 'Dark Waters'. Parental Note; Heavy vulgar dialogue, violence and grotty sexual situation. Foxtel Aust ran this American R certificate as an M, when will they get it right?

Its a drama and action infested dark mysterious, version of many things, also the 10 great plauges of egypt has some equivallence, to what i felt like a slowplottet multifasceted choice of the golden age of actors, that doesnt have that much punch left, and a devil youll learn the name of if you hang on to the bitter end. there are quite a lot mediocre story development and telling, so if your an somniacic humanyou might feel the silent urge to take a nap there in the dark its a film that if youre binging films one night, do start with this one so you spare the best till the end,no suggestions from me though what that should be, the grumpy old man didnt find it outstanding at all, so a 6 and a small recommend