Paxton, Thornton, Fonda and Briscoe don't reach, don't strain and don't signal. They simply embody their characters, in performances based on a clear emotional logic that carries us along from the beginning to the end. Thornton and Fonda have big scenes that, in other hands, might have led to grandstanding. Thornton's character, Jacob, has watched as Hank went to college and achieved what passes for success. He has another heartbreaking scene, as they talk about women.
Hank remembers the name of a girl Jacob dated years ago, in high school.
As for Fonda, her best moment is a speech about facing a lifetime of struggling to make ends meet. The characters are rich, full and plausible. Raimi's direction and the screenplay by Scott B. Smith are meticulous in forming and building the characters, and placing them within a film that also functions as a thriller. There is the danger that the theft will be discovered. The deepening hole of crime they dig for themselves.