Capsule reviews for April 12

The Absence of Eden

Immersing us in the stressful unease along the United States-Mexico border, this melodramatic thriller lacks the subtlety and nuance to bring anything new to the hot-button conversation. It tells intertwined stories of a refugee (Zoe Saldana) fleeing cartel violence while working as a hotel housekeeper, a border agent (Garrett Hedlund) facing a moral dilemma, and an undocumented immigrant (Adria Arjona) who becomes separated from her young daughter. Despite some striking imagery and compassionate performances, the film from rookie director Marco Perego struggles to generate sufficient incentive for emotional investment. Exploring the ethical and sociopolitical complexities on both sides, it’s sincere yet not as provocative as intended. (Rated R, 85 minutes).

Arcadian

The menacing creatures are more compelling than their resilient human counterparts in this labored dystopian thriller from director Benjamin Brewer (The Trust) that struggles to raise its emotional stakes. It’s set in a desolate near future, where Paul (Nicolas Cage) and his mischievous teenage sons (Jaeden Martell and Maxwell Jenkins) are among the few survivors on Earth. Their survival plan consists of going out during the day before protecting their farmhouse from nocturnal bloodthirsty monsters. How long can they literally hold down the fort? As it slowly builds suspense, the film spends too much time on the buildup and not enough on the payoff. (Rated R, 92 minutes).

Damaged

Within its formulaic narrative framework, the arbitrary twists in this derivative procedural thriller aren’t sufficient to enhance the suspense or establish an emotional foothold. The mystery is set in Scotland, where a detective (Gianni Capaldi) is trying to track a serial killer with a particularly grisly pattern of violence. For assistance, he calls upon alcoholic Chicago investigator (Samuel L. Jackson) who dealt with a similar case alongside his trusted former partner (Vincent Cassel). As they piece together clues and red herrings, dark secrets are revealed that change motives and loyalties. The performances outshine the script, despite thin characters and a reliance on genre cliches. (Rated R, 97 minutes).

Laroy, Texas

Indulging in genre influences while carving its own narrative niche, this dark crime comedy infuses its Fargo-style atmospherics with sharp dialogue and compelling characters. It follows Ray (John Magaro), whose cheating wife leads him to the brink of suicide before he’s mistaken for a hitman and delivered an envelope filled with cash. That episode of mistaken identity prompts a strange sense of empowerment, followed by a quest with his buddy, a fledgling private investigator (Steve Zahn), to get out of their small town alive. The screenplay by rookie director Shane Atkinson effectively modulates tones while the sharp cast generates hard-earned sympathy along Ray’s road to redemption. (Not rated, 112 minutes).

The Long Game

Rather than adapting sports-movie formula to fit its true-life story, this underdog crowd-pleaser feels embellished and sanitized to fit some feel-good calculations. It’s set in the 1950s in southern Texas, where a Latino war veteran and school administrator (Jay Hernandez) is denied entry into an all-white country club. So he plays instead on a homemade course designed by five teenage caddies, eventually inviting them to join an upstart high school team with title aspirations. Shining a deserving spotlight on its inspirational subjects, the predictable film nevertheless is slightly below par — which in movie terms, isn’t a good thing. The cast includes Dennis Quaid and Cheech Marin. (Rated PG, 106 minutes).

Lost Angel: The Genius of Judee Sill

We’ve seen plenty of stories about tortured addicts in the music business, but this documentary about the obscure 1970s folk singer finds its rhythm by emphasizing the specifics of its mercurial subject’s life and legacy. The film details the troubled upbringing and subsequent rise to the brink of fame for Sill, who collaborated with Graham Nash and Linda Ronstadt yet never achieved the fame and fortune she deserved. At least that’s the argument of this insightful portrait, which intimately probes the connection between Sill’s music and own life of drug addiction, mental illness, and professional rejection. Fortunately, there’s been some posthumous appreciation for her talent. (Not rated, 91 minutes).

Omen

Both culturally specific and universally resonant, this haunting drama powerfully scrutinizes oppressive belief systems with an examination of how rigid traditions and customs force one man to choose between his family and his future. Koffi (Marc Zinga) returns from Belgium to his native Congo for a funeral. He brings along his white fiancée (Lucie Debay), which causes a stir within his family, especially his obstinate mother (Yves-Marina Gnahoua), who talks of sorcery and curses and ostracizes him. Koffi’s fate becomes intertwined with his siblings in the nonlinear screenplay by rookie Congolese director Baloji, whose visually striking surrealism remains grounded in a moral complexity and emotional authenticity. (Not rated, 92 minutes).

Sasquatch Sunset

Once you dig beneath the sophomoric silliness, there’s a sincerity to this mildly endearing blend of myth and reality. Still, the dialogue-free oddity from sibling directors David and Nathan Zellner (Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter) feels strained at feature length. It follows one year in the life of a Bigfoot family in the woods of northern California. Between grunts, we get sequences of the four-yeti clan (played by Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough, among others) farting, fornicating, and eating boogers, as well as foraging, caring for one another, and simply surviving. Set against a scenic backdrop, it starts as an amusing experiment before turning tedious and repetitive. (Rated R, 89 minutes).

Sweet Dreams

Awkwardly combining an underdog sports saga with an addiction-recovery drama, this broad comedy is too formulaic and predictable to provide either consistent laughs or a deeper emotional impact. Morris (Johnny Knoxville) is a filmmaker who checks into a men’s sobriety house after a drunken public scandal. His ultimate goal is to make amends with his young daughter, but first he’s talked into coaching his housemates on a ragtag softball team to save the facility from foreclosure. Despite some heartfelt intentions and a committed portrayal by Knoxville, there aren’t many surprises in the quirky screenplay by director Lije Sarki, which only sporadically fulfills its crowd-pleasing ambitions. (Rated R, 98 minutes).