Gailard Sartain

Rating: 7/10 (22 May 2004)

Am I the only one who thought that Gailard Sartain's performance in this movie was outstanding? I'm not particularly a fan of his; in fact, I'm hard-pressed to remember any other role he's played. Sure, Gene Hackman was great, but you pretty much expect that from him, and Frances McDormand deserved her Oscar Nomination; but Sartain really stood out as the sheriff. He managed to be compelling and charismatic and scary as hell all at the same time. Actually, so did Gene Hackman, which I think was intentional--the filmmakers wanted us to notice the very thin line between Hackman's ex-sheriff character and Sartain's Sheriff Stuckey.
I thought the movie was a little heavy-handed, and its obvious attempts to be powerful and moving made me wince at times. But maybe that was necessary to portray just how dangerous and vicious racism can be when it ingrains itself into a culture. Overall, I would highly recommend this film.