Review: Serviceable mystery ‘Intersection’ follows trite path
The modestly watchable, at times intriguing romantic mystery “Intersection” is never quite skillful or convincing enough to forget for even a moment how many far better haunted hunk-meets-femme fatale thrillers have come before it.
Directed by Tim French, from a trope-heavy, on-the-nose script he wrote with his father, Michael French, the film finds former philosophy professor Cobb (Hoyt Richards) on his annual memorial visit to the remote small town of Dusty Springs (shot in Taft, Calif.) where, six years earlier, his daughter was killed in a car crash — with Cobb at the wheel.
The guilt-wracked Cobb, whose life went south after the accident, wants a quick in-and-out from the one-horse burg but, in a tired twist, is sidelined by car trouble and is forced to stick around.
But that gloomy prospect brightens when he meets — and soon falls for — the beautiful Nash (Anabella Casanova), a newcomer to town who’s hiding from an angry ex-husband (Scott King).
The tale takes a series of predictable turns leading to some overly speedy and slapdash plotting, as well as a dubious and heavy-handed use of the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Although much of the cast is uneven, Richards, with his handsome, lived-in face (he was once a top male model), and the lovely Casanova are capable enough actors, as is Johnny Williams (Johnny Roastbeef in “Goodfellas”), who plays a chatty barkeep.
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‘Intersection’
Not rated
Running time: 1 hour, 17 minutes
Playing: Arena Cinelounge Sunset, Hollywood
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