The Border (1982)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

When one considers the extraordinary acting career of Jack Nicholson, the performances that immediately spring to mind are the likes of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Shining and even Tim Burton's Batman. They were roles seemingly tailor-made for Nicholson's manic arched eyebrows and devilish grin, but he was capable of so much more when, ironically, doing far less. Arguably, he has never been better than as Charlie Smith, the middle-aged and weary border agent working within a corrupt organisation in El Paso. When we first meet him, he is discussing with the owner of a factory which of his illegal immigrant employees to arrest so he can meet his quota of deportations. He reads the Mexican youths their rights like reading from a shopping list, but they'll be back in a few days. Charlie's job is ineffective and he knows it, and it takes a special actor to pull off indifference and boredom without appearing disinterested.Every night he returns to his nondescript trailer to eat a TV dinner cooked by his stay-at-home wife Marcy (Valerie Perrine). It is Marcy who convinces Charlie to quit his job as an immigration enforcement officer and move to El Paso, where property is cheaper and a job as a border agent awaits him. To please the wife he has fallen out of love with but nevertheless tolerates, Charlie agrees, and falls in with fellow border agent Cat (Harvey Keitel). Along with his supervisor Red (Warren Oates), Cat runs a human trafficking operation across the border, and wants Charlie to join the payroll. Meanwhile, young Mexican mother Maria (Elpidia Carrillo) attempts to flee into the U.S. with her baby and younger brother after an earthquake decimates her town. When she frequently comes up against the border patrols, Charlie start to sympathise with her situation, as well as growing increasingly weary of his wife's wild spending and his colleagues' abuse of power.The Border didn't do particularly well on its release and its memory has somewhat faded since, but director Tony Richardson's film packs enough of a punch to warrant a reevaluation. It perhaps arrived too late in a decade when cinema had moved away from the character-driven 70s and more towards visual decadence. Yet The Border could also be released today, and its subject matter would be just as relevant, if not more so. It highlights the problems on both sides, with corruption rife and those caught in the middle treated like dogs, and what little progress has been made in the decades since. Recent films like Sin Nombre and Cartel Land have explored and highlighted the same issues, and the result is always violence upon violence. Richardson, who is better known for his exceptional British works Look Back in Anger, A Taste of Honey, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runnier and Tom Jones (amongst others), directs with little flair but trusts the story to pack enough power on its own. Although it descends into a generic, action-packed climax (which was forced in after test audiences reacted badly to the original ending), The Border deserves another shot, and features a Jack Nicholson at the very top of his game.

Surprising touching story from Jack Nicholson at his best performance in this priceless picture...The Border is a unique movie that have a serious treatment at borderline between Mexico and America focusing a particular case of a young widow when your baby was stolen by Mexican coyote who intent to sell to a rich family....Nicholson was involved in corruption since your life style was in roller-coaster by your fancy woman....the score music is outstanding like Across the Borderline song whose is fantastic covered by Freddie Fender in the most finest version!!!A movie to watch and see what's happening until today!!!

Charlie Smith is a border patrol agent who's life is twisted between trying to satisfy a wife who's demands constantly escalate and who is never satisfied and a job he starts out enjoying but ends up hating. The twists in the story are never ending and the characters are played to the hilt by a great supporting cast led by Harvey Keitel and Warren Oates.You'll watch this dark story of conflict and enjoy it a lot. Another reviewer calls it Nicholson's best job acting. I like Jack and think he's a great actor and this role does reflect that talent.The music is haunting and really lends to the story, especially the title song by Freddie Fender.

(Credit IMDb) U.S. Border Patrol agent Charlie Smith just wants to do a good job and provide for his wife. But between her demands for a more affluent lifestyle and the importuning of Charlie's partner Cat to take part in illegal activities in exchange for bribes, Charlie gets caught up in helping smuggle illegal immigrants across the Texas border. When one of them, a young Mexican girl named Maria, loses her baby to abductors who plan to sell the child, Charlie decides to take a stand for her and against the corruption he's fallen into.The Border is a movie that is very tough to endure, and a chore to finish. I love movies with this subject, and I love Jack Nicholson and Harvey Keitel as actors even more, but this movie has nothing of note to really say that is good. The performances are decent, but the plot is awfully tough to take, while nothing really ever happens. We are treated to continuously boring dialog, Nicholson bickering with his wife over pools, money, Etc. When I read the storyline for this, I really thought it would be much better then it was. I didn't care for the characters themselves, and I was heavily disappointed when all was said and done.Performances. Jack Nicholson is solid, but underwhelming, considering his talents. He is unlikable, and I didn't get the jolt I expected with someone of his character. He is supposed to go from corruption to our hero, yet I didn't feel that boost when it happened. Harvey Keitel is OK, but he really only plays side-kick to Nicholson. Bottom line. It's dull, uninteresting, and under-performed. Considering my interest in Border Patrolling, this is a big disappointment, considering the talent involved. Not much too really recommend here. It's faded into 80's obscurity here, and it's one of the less talked about Nicholson films on his resume, for good reason too.4/10