A Night in Old Mexico

2014 "This cowboy ain't done yet"
5.7| 1h43m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 01 May 2014 Released
Producted By: Telefónica Studios
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Forced to give up his land and home, Texas rancher Red Bovie isn't about to retire quietly in a dismal trailer park. Instead he hops in his Cadillac and hits the road with his estranged grandson for one last wild adventure filled with guns, women and booze. It’s just another night in Old Mexico.

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classicsoncall Robert Duvall never disappoints, even when he appears in a modestly budgeted (only $2 million) independent effort. You have to give the man credit, he was eighty two when he made this picture when most of the other old hosses would have been put out to pasture. It was 2003's "Open Range" that convinced me that Duvall is my favorite modern day actor, an idea reinforced whenever I see him in a picture I haven't viewed before.Take this one for example. He's got the churlish, old man gimmick down pretty well with the facial grimace and repetitive 'Yeahs' to follow up his poignant observations about life and it's consequences. Where the story line takes an unexpected turn occurs when hit man Cholo (Joaquin Cosio) takes out the two grifters who hitch a ride with Red Bovie (Duvall) and his grandson Gally (Jeremy Irvine). All the while one expects the pair of outlaws to hijack Bovie and steal his car, leaving the rest of the story for Red to pursue the men and make good. So that was a twist I didn't see coming.The other one was Red hooking up with the senorita Patty Wafers (Angie Cepeda), an arrangement that doesn't look like it would work but between them, they make sure that the old adage of opposites attracting still works. I'm on the fence with the character of Gally, actor Irvine looked miscast for the part to my thinking. If not for the connection between his own father and the estranged relationship with Red, I don't think it would have worked, but there was something in there that clicked for the elder Bovie, especially after learning that James got his ticket punched on a commuter train back home.It was cool to see Abraham Benrubi in the story as Big Roscoe Hamill, arranging a four hundred dollar getaway from Mexico when drug kingpin Panama (Luis Tosar) zeroed in on the drug money left behind in Red's car. Benrubi appeared as one of Duvall's ranch hands who was murdered on the trail in "Open Range", and just like he did here, it's Duvall's character who sets out to make things right when he's crossed.
Robert W. Literally the single reason to watch this film is the legendary Robert Duvall. The rest of the movie is basically a mess. Although in another sense its a pointless mess. It feels like it has no direction, it is excruciatingly slow and just seems as though it were slapped together without any thought process behind the script. It is a complete mess and that's really the best way to put it. If this film did well, even in the artistic sector with critics, I'd be surprised. There isn't any particularly stunning cinematography or morality hidden in the script and it just isn't worth a lot of time. The film starts out with a lot of promise and seemed like it might be a unique drama-thriller with a hint of coming of age story for both a young man and an old man nearing his last days. But there isn't enough story or development to keep this interesting enough for two hours. The entire side-story of Red (Duvall) and his Grandson crossing some sort of Mexican gangsters feels forced and almost unnecessary though it does give the only moments of fast paced action certainly. There was one particular gun fight in a cemetery that I thought actually was quite well done.Robert Duvall proves in this film why he is a legend. The movie is sub-par at best, a mess as I've said, and yet Duvall is truly excellent in this movie. He's chaotic, desperately struggling to hold onto his youth and his dignity. Sometimes you heart breaks for him and sometimes you cheer for him and the best thing of all is when he "gets the girl" you actually believe it and root for him for it instead of rolling your eyes at the idea of a hot young woman ending up with a grizzly old man. There is some sense behind it. Jeremy Irvine is okay as Duvall's estranged Grandson. Its such an important role and the chemistry between he and Duvall is okay at best. If they had given the role to someone with more experience or charisma it would have made a big difference. Certainly Irvine does well playing the naive young man trying to become a cowboy but there just is something that doesn't meld right there. Angie Cepeda is also decent as the stripper they end up befriending. Cepeda and Duvall have very good chemistry and she is fiery and strong willed and she plays a good solid role given the terrible script. Luis Tosar and Joaquín Cosio are okay as our villains but as I mentioned that storyline is almost unnecessary and makes you confused as to what kind of film they were trying to make.A Night In Old Mexico doesn't know what its trying to be. Is it a Western? Certainly not though it has some elements. Is it a drama? A Dark Gritty action film? A revenge flick? It is literally all over the place and yet none of the genres it tries to be comes across as successful. Director Emilio Aragón is apparently a well respected Spanish Artist but it looks like this is his first foray into North American films and I'm not sure he quite has a grasp on what it takes to make a feature film. He has done a lot of Television and a lot of "shorts" and I think part of the issue is that A Night In Old Mexico felt like it should have been a short film instead of desperately trying to drag it out over the course of two hours. So if you're a monster Robert Duvall fan than you'll likely be able to enjoy his redemptive performance but the rest of the movie is painfully slow and far from entertaining. 5/10
Red-Barracuda The story begins with an old Texan having to leave the ranch he has lived in his whole life, at the same moment he is suddenly introduced to a grandson he has never met before. They go off on a jaunt to Mexico where they end up hooking up with another lost soul, a singing stripper. Complicating matters considerably is the fact that they have inadvertently come into possession of a bag containing $150,000 - some violent criminals pursue them for this.The chief draw of A Night in Old Mexico is the presence of veteran actor Robert Duvall. He certainly shows here that he still remains a very capable actor. It's a pity then that this film doesn't have a stronger storyline for Duvall to work off. It's effectively an odd couple movie, with a crime strand underpinning it. The first part works to a certain extent – Duvall's acting is good and the dialogue is often well written – but the dynamics between the three characters often seem a little forced, in particular it's quite hard really believing in the motivations of the Latina stripper character. The crime story, while fairly generic, does offer some potential excitement but it doesn't necessarily play out in such a way as to actually provide too much. Perhaps this is a good thing in some respects as it means that the film is maybe taking a different course to what you might typically expect. Whatever the case, the criminals operate in the background of the story and bump one and other off and they never really seem to pose that much of a threat to our heroes, which does dissipate the potential tension this could have created.The location used by the story was pretty interesting though. The story takes place during the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday celebration. The purpose of which is to gather people together to pray for and remember friends and family who have died. This of course parallels the storyline of the film itself really well. Not only this but the strange skull-like masks worn by the townspeople as part of this celebration make for a somewhat memorable backdrop to proceedings, giving the film a nice distinctive feeling in this area. It's the specifically Mexican flavours that for the most part offer the best things about this flick.
Tony Heck "I have never in my whole life seen someone like you." Red Bovie (Duvall) is a proud rancher who has just lost his farm, land, house and everything he owns. He has also just met Gally (Irvine) who claims to be his grandson. After being shown the trailer which will be his new home Red drives off with Gally and they head for Mexico. Along the way they pick up two hitchhikers which change the course of not only the night but their lives. The first thing I have to say about this movie is that Robert Duvall was the perfect choice. This is his Gran Torino in the way that this seemed like a movie where they turned on a camera and just filmed him being himself for a few days. He is the only real name in this but that does not diminish the movie at all. It started off a little slow but by the end I ended up liking it and was glad I stuck it out. There is drama, action and some comedy in this but the real reason to watch is Duvall. You really can't take your eyes off of him and his casting alone makes the movie better. Overall, a good movie that I did like but Robert Duvall is the reason to watch. I give this a B.