Oil executive Gigi Cutler (Kate Bosworth) is called in by her CEO (Alfred Molina) expecting her resignation for failure in California. She recounts how farmer Fred Stern (David Strathairn) took them down. They had been polluting the ground water for at least the last ten years. Cutler recruits local Alex Gardner (Haley Joel Osment) to buy Stern's water rights without informing him of the secret pollution. Stern hires lawyer Ralph Wegis (Martin Sheen) who once upon a time took down the Pinto. Santiago (Edward James Olmos) is Stern's close friend and the farm foreman. Ezekiel (Pablo Schreiber) is the fixer sent in by "Houston". Olive Gore (Katie Aselton) is the lawyer hired by the company.
Everybody is going over the top. It gives off a strange satirical quality. Edward James Olmos is the director and he seems to be shooting for Adam McKay. It doesn't feel right. They need to restrain some of these characters so that the big moments can feel big. Molina is really chewing his scenes for all it's worth and Bosworth is over her head. Quite frankly, I would switch her with Aselton. As for Schreiber, he might as well carry around an air tank since he's already pretending that he's in a Coen brothers movie. Generally, everybody is trying way too hard.
Everybody is going over the top. It gives off a strange satirical quality. Edward James Olmos is the director and he seems to be shooting for Adam McKay. It doesn't feel right. They need to restrain some of these characters so that the big moments can feel big. Molina is really chewing his scenes for all it's worth and Bosworth is over her head. Quite frankly, I would switch her with Aselton. As for Schreiber, he might as well carry around an air tank since he's already pretending that he's in a Coen brothers movie. Generally, everybody is trying way too hard.