No Man’s Land
“No Man’s Land” wants to be an insightful drama about strangers in a strange land illegally, but it has more to say about personal responsibility and doing what’s right after terrible mistakes. It has some suspense and possible romance, but it ultimately comes down to one scene where a lot of fates hang in the balance. Ultimately, several right choices are made, but only after some bad ones transpire.
The border wall between the United States and Mexico is not, strictly speaking, along the border. Because of the way the Rio Grande runs, there’s a portion of Texas that is on the Mexican side of the wall. I didn’t need Conor Allyn’s film to know that, but I wonder how many will know that before watching this film. I cannot imagine what it is like to live as a part of a country, but not quite in it, but the film establishes that reality well in the beginning when we see Bill Greer (Frank Grillo) have to go to the hardware store- he has to show his passport. He and his sons have a ranch and cattle to look after, but Jackson (Jake Allyn, who co-wrote the script with David Barraza) has potential to be a baseball star. At night, Bill and his sons go on border patrols, and one night, they come across a group crossing the border, and by the end of the encounter, Jackson has killed a Mexican boy, and Bill’s other son has been shot. Bill tries to take responsibility for the shooting, but the Texas Ranger investigating the case (George Lopez) knows what happens, and when he goes to bring in Jackson, Jackson rides across the river into Mexico. Now he must survive as a gringo in Mexico, unable to go home.
The film’s primary idea is an interesting one- the idea of an American living as an illegal alien at the risk of being deported, and facing legal action- but it also rings hollow; there aren’t really any great insights to be had in this story, no lessons that will allow Jackson to feel empathy towards the Mexicans who cross the border every day, knowing to do so illegally means legal danger. Whom Jackson will start to feel empathy towards, however, is the father (Jorge A. Jimenez) of the boy he killed, and even with perfunctory story developments involving a young coyote who hustles people across the border, and Jackson being helped by a Mexican family whom he works for to pay off that debt, the central drama becomes whether the father of the boy who was shot will be able to forgive Jackson, or if Jackson will pay for what he did in an example of “old west justice.” In this story thread, the character arc for Jackson takes shape, as he realizes he must accept responsibility for what he did, and hope he can convince the father to forgive him. When “No Man’s Land” centers on that conflict, it is a strong, empathetic drama about people from different backgrounds, finding a way to see each other as individuals who are struggling through life.
