In Coyote Funeral, battling brothers Casey and Dusty Cannon have their lives changed by a sign on Interstate 10 that states: "El Paso 857". Anyone who has driven across Texas is amazed by how wide the state is--857 miles is one tenth the diameter of the earth (7,901 miles)--so the brothers' decision to walk across Texas seems amazing.
Several months before passing this sign, we see Casey walk out on their family ranch which is also about the same time the brother's dad leaves their mom. Younger brother Dusty, shattered by a recent breakup with his sweetheart, doesn't know that Casey has several big chips on his shoulder.
Dusty finally accepts Casey's challenge to work through their troubles by walking from Orange to El Paso but I didn't really believe Dusty's motivation and I had to suspend belief here. During the journey Casey doesn't come out and discuss his problems but rather lets them manifest themselves as a constant barrage of comments against women. This constant berating of women becomes tiresome.
The great state of Texas is supposed to be a character in this film but for anyone who has ever traveled Texas--especially in a recreational vehicle--this portrayal of Texas, the character, is missing the depth that the state really has. Texas contains barrier islands and coastal lowlands, large river floodplain forests, rolling plains and plateaus, forested hills, deserts, and a variety of aquatic habitats. The people in East Texas have a different accent from the people in West Texas.
Then again most of the characters in this film could use more depth. In the movie "Friday Night Lights" (another Texas film) Peter Berg was told to go BACK and shoot a drive-in scene so the audience would have a chance to get to know the characters. Coyote Funeral needs flashbacks or an introduction scene so we can know the characters before the drama begins. I need to care about Dusty and Casey before I want to watch them walk 857 miles together.
The actors in this film all need to click on the link below, move the pointer to 45:32 and listen to Ben Kingsley--rather Sir Ben Kingsley--tell Charlie Rose what he does to be a great actor--don't rush the lines, play off the other person and pretend you don't know what the other actor is going to say so what you say appears spontaneous: http://video.google.com/ videoplay?docid=-3950790015676540082&q =charlie+rose&total=4792 &start=0&num=10&so=1 &type=search&plindex=0
The soundtrack for this film is great--Texas Renegade is a great band! The music is really professional and really, really helped the film.
The screenplay is a diamond in the rough; the twist is a creative, clever idea. However, we do need some "Paris, Texas" quality scenes before this movie rises above a film school effort.
