When you manage to cast three brilliant actors in your film like John Malkovich, Bruce Dern and Billy Bob Thornton, then you are entitled to feel pretty let down when the young buck you hire in the lead role completely ruins the whole thing. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Liam Hemsworth has no acting chops whatsoever. In fact he's an absolute drain on a film. It's a shame too because this was an otherwise fun film with some real quirk to it and a few elements that even the Coen brothers would even be proud of.
Director Matt Shaman quite effectively achieves the isolated, small town, far from the big city feel that makes a film like this work so well. This is Shakman's first film he's directed and he's done a good job. The characters are also well written and the overall script is pretty solid and a lot of fun. The only thing really holding this back is Hemsworth as far I am concerned. There are so many fine actors around his age who would have been perfect for the role too. Put him in a film opposite Miley Cyrus and he'll come across as great by comparison (maybe even Oscar worthy), but put him in a scene with one of the three big actors previously mentioned in this film and he noticeably pales in comparison. The fact that it's still quite watchable despite this is a good thing.
