No Man's Land

When they were boys, Jake Allyn and his brother Conor used to cross into Mexico with their father, and those trips in the '90s are where 'No Man's Land' comes from. Conor directs, and Jake stars and wrote the script with David Barraza. It's a modern western set on the Texas border that flips the usual story: this time the one hiding on the other side of the river is a young American.

The Greers have a ranch on the Rio Grande, and they're sick of people crossing their land, cutting the fences and letting the cattle out. Bill, the father, patrols at night with his elder son. Jackson, the younger one, has a golden arm and a Yankees contract waiting for him in New York. One night a standoff with a group of migrants gets out of hand, and Jackson accidentally kills a Mexican boy.

His father tries to take the blame, but Texas Ranger Ramirez doesn't buy it, and Jackson ends up fleeing on horseback across the river, an illegal immigrant in Mexico. Both countries' police are after him, and so is Gustavo, the boy's father, who wants revenge. Along the way Jackson starts to see the land he was raised to look down on rather differently.

Frank Grillo, also an executive producer, and Andie MacDowell play the parents, Alex MacNicoll the elder brother and George Lopez the ranger, in a straight role critics singled out. Jorge A. Jiménez is Gustavo and Andrés Delgado the coyote who eggs him on, with Esmeralda Pimentel, Ofelia Medina and Tiaré Scanda on the Mexican side. It was made by Margate House, the Allyns' family company, which had also backed 'I'm No Longer Here'.

IFC Films released it in the US in January 2021, in cinemas and on demand, and it went straight to digital in the UK that May. Reviews were lukewarm. Critics liked the landscapes and the cast, but plenty felt its good intentions only ever saw one side of the border.

• Action
• Adventure
• Drama