William Garnett has a second chance to build his life when released from jail after 18 years. With the help of parole agent Emily Smith, Garnett finds a job as a bank account as well as stays away from violent problem. However, Sheriff Bill Agati still considers Garnett as a threat to the community and he makes a plan to get Garnett back to prison for life.
The desert landscapes are gorgeously shot by Yves Cape, but "Two Men in Town" never seems to fully inhabit its setting. Nor does the schematic, occasionally clumsy story do justice to the skills of the cast.
Eventually fails to live up to its initial promise, but as an overview of human frailty, it contains several powerful scenes that allow the cast room to articulate complex emotions in an honest manner.
As exceptional as the acting in the picture is, and it is wonderful ... it can't entirely lift the movie from the rut it has all but plowed into by the end credits.
Frustratingly close to something very special indeed. If only it had a screenplay to match the visuals and performances, we'd be talking about a small classic.
Even if the accents are questionable or inconsistent, there's still a sense of place and geography that's rare in contemporary American film. This is the county-sized world of a parolee, where everything seems small except the horizon.
The setting is striking, the cast impressive. But "Two Men in Town," a drama that's built on dread and circles the question of redemption for a newly released prisoner, falls short of the mythic territory it aspires to.
