The Quarry

Just like selling real estate, the key to the slow-burn thriller The Quarry is all about location.

It certainly captures a small-town Texas landscape in which surface quaintness and spiritual cohesion mask a darker underbelly of simmering bilingual distrust, casual lawlessness, and subtle racial profiling.

The problem is that, like the film’s intense opening sequence, the narrative about redemption and rural justice doesn’t consistently grip you emotionally.

As the film opens, a hitchhiking fugitive (Shea Whigham) rides shotgun with a minister (Bruno Bichir), who explains he’s about to assume leadership over a mostly immigrant congregation down the road. After an argument ensues, the preacher winds up dead, and the stranger buries him in a quarry.

His plan becomes to assume the minister’s identity. After all, the locals don’t know the identity of their new preacher, and they don’t seem too eager to question his credentials.

The dead body eventually turns up, prompting Sheriff Moore (Michael Shannon) to investigate. Moore’s casual approach to law and order accompanies a philosophical outlook on crime and punishment. “Forgiveness only works in a world where people learn their lessons,” he explains.

Moore happens to be cozy with the landlord (Catalina Sandino Moreno) who provides lodging for the clergy. And his preconceived notions about a small-time drug dealer (Bobby Soto) obscure his ability to piece together clues about the real perpetrator.

In other words, the characters try to unravel a mystery for which moviegoers already have all the clues. Meanwhile, the story is driven by contrivances, hindering the suspense.

Shannon and Whigham provide some intriguing dynamics as they brood and match wits, doing their best to elevate the mediocre screenplay — adapted from a novel by South African writer Damon Galgut that was previously made into a Belgian film in 1998.

More atmosphere than plot, the deliberately paced film manages some character-driven intrigue under the capable steering of director Scott Teems (That Evening Sun).

Although the richly textured setting feels authentic, however, The Quarry lacks sufficient depth and moral complexity. The film ultimately offers a muddled examination of our blind trust and belief in authority figures, inviting sympathy without earning it.

Rated R, 98 minutes.