Preview: David Morse In Broken Land

Film and television veteran David Morse (St. Elsewhere, The Indian Runner, The Green Mile) stars alongside stage, screen, and TV actor Bill Heck (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Old Man) and newcomer Jaklyn Bejarano in Broken Land, a neo-western drama slated to premiere on digital platforms June 12.

The official synopsis: Carson Tidwell (Morse) wants nothing more than to be left alone on his rural Texas ranch. When he accidentally shoots Irena (Bejarano), a pregnant migrant worker crossing his land, he feels compelled to protect her from Harley (Heck), his estranged Border Patrol agent son. As she recovers, a bond forms that ultimately heals them both.

Directed and written by J.T. Walker, Broken Land was well-received last year when it was screened under its original title, La Gloria, at the Morelia International Film Festival.  

“Walker shot much of the film on his grandparents’ ranch,” wrote critic Daniel Eagan, “giving [Broken Land] a sense of authenticity most low-budget films can’t achieve.”

The filmmaker, Eagan added, “uses deliberate pacing, stark settings, and forlorn characters to challenge viewers, trying to make them decide between right and wrong. But the facts are stacked in Irena’s favor. Her husband was murdered by a drug cartel, her home burned to the ground, her parents threatened. She herself was cut and scarred for life. Plus, she’s four months pregnant.

“It still takes Tidwell a long time to decide what to do. A superb actor, Morse makes that journey from indifference to empathy plausible. Walker helps by providing thoroughly convincing details about the desolate Texas landscape, a place where it’s a struggle to survive.

“What [Broken Land] tries to prove is that it’s harder to be prejudiced against an individual than a stereotype. Tidwell won’t help immigrants but can’t turn Irena down. Asked why by Harley, he replies, ‘I know her.’”

Here is the official Broken Land trailer from Well Go USA Entertainment.