A good-natured thriller in the heart of rural America
This year’s Austin Film Festival hosted the premiere of Texas Cotton, a feisty little indie movie with a boatload of real characters, some menacing action, and a setting that is pure small-town Texas.
The centerpiece of the film–the impetus for it, one could say–is actor George Hardy who plays Sergeant Travis Delmore. Director Tyler Russell, like many in the film world, was aware of Hardy from the cult classic Troll 2 and its accompanying documentary Best Worst Movie. That this mild-mannered dentist from Alabama could become so well known in cinema is one thing, but that he could carry a new feature film is something else entirely. That, however, is just what Russell foresaw.
Those in attendance at last year’s festival might have seen a short film also entitled Texas Cotton and also featuring Hardy as a police officer. It turns out that work was a sort of “proof of concept” to show investors other interested parties that Hardy was up to the task of playing a serious lead. The experiment was a success.
Hardy’s earnest amateurism is perfect for the sincere, genuinely nice Delmore who finds himself just trying to do the right thing in a town rife with corruption. The mayor (Jason Douglas) appears up to no good, and police chief Fellers (an always tremendous Gene Jones) doesn’t appear to want to do anything about it.
Fest favorite Lew Temple plays Joe, a man seemingly caught in the middle that Delmore is trying to help out, and he does so with a country fried-ness that’s spot on. Deputy Alexa Boozer (Tiffany Shepis) is about the only other right-thinking person in the city limits. As Delmore uncovers more and more clues about how rotten this little apple has gotten, she’s right there by his side.
Filming of the fictional town of LaCoste, Texas took place in the actual town of LaCoste, Texas, just outside of San Antonio. This verisimilitude jumps off the screen, as the action flutters between a tiny main street and small country roads with just the slightest hint of a hill or two.
George Hardy might not have a ton of credits on his IMDB page, but with this film, he has proven to himself and the world that he has what it takes to share the screen with great actors. Texas Cotton uses a top-notch cast to tell an engaging story that has equal amounts of fun and danger. This is the kind of entertainment not seen often enough in indie filmmaking.
The Austin Film Festival celebrates the art of storytelling through film, recognizing the writer as the core of the creative process in filmmaking.
For a full schedule, visit www.austinfilmfestival.com.