"Traveller" boasts nothing spectacular (unless you count James Gammons blowing everyone off the screen in every scene he's in), but is smart little movie and a fine choice for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Bill Paxton, taking a break from blockbusters like "Twister" and "Titanic," stars and executive produced this slice-of-life drama, and he's solid as a member of a quaint Irish, gypsy-like nomadic group that cheats people out of money. Mark Wahlberg, who is becoming one of the finest young actors working today, plays his protege, and Gammons comes along as an outsider who helps the pair out on a gig. Julianna Marguiles of "ER" also shows up as Paxton's love interest. The acting is uniformly fine, the cheating schemes are twisty and unpredictable, and the story is nicely touching. Though not without some ordinary moments (Wahlberg's romance wastes time, why the ultra-violent ending?), this is a fine sleeper of a film.
