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The Border

Play trailer Poster for The Border R 1982 1h 47m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
65% Tomatometer 26 Reviews 52% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Charlie Smith (Jack Nicholson) barely scrapes by on his low salary, but his hectoring wife, Marcy (Valerie Perrine), is anxious to move up in the world, so he takes a new position as a border patrol agent alongside the hair-trigger Cat (Harvey Keitel). Soon, Charlie is a reluctant party to Cat's smuggling and other petty criminal actions, but when the corrupt agent sets his avaricious sights on a poor illegal immigrant (Elpidia Carrillo) and her newborn baby, Charlie's moral code returns.
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The Border

The Border

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Critics Consensus

It makes frustratingly facile work of its thorny premise, but Jack Nicholson's gritty lead performance keeps The Border worth watching.

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Critics Reviews

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Michael Maza Arizona Republic The Border splashes around in the shallows on both sides of the Rio Grande, never more than ankle-deep in the problems or drama of illegal immigration. Aug 6, 2021 Full Review Jack Mathews Detroit Free Press Jack Nicholson gives his best starring performance since "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" as a soul-searching U.S. border patrolman... Rated: 3/4 Aug 6, 2021 Full Review Gene Siskel Chicago Tribune Nicholson's best leading role since he won the Oscar for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" six years ago. Rated: 3/4 Aug 6, 2021 Full Review George Williams Sacramento Bee Jack Nicholson gives his most satisfying performance in years, perhaps since "Five Easy Pieces," in "The Border," directed by Tony Richardson. Aug 6, 2021 Full Review Malcolm Johnson Hartford Courant The three disparate styles that play against one another in "The Border" give this film much of its interest and density, but not without an occasional sense that gears are grinding a bit. Aug 6, 2021 Full Review Patrick Taggart Austin American-Statesman Nicholson is there with his cigarette and wild hair and his clenched-teeth sincerity to make it all okay. Aug 6, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Steve D Nicholson's character is so detestable (and he is the GOOD guy) it is hard to watch Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/21/23 Full Review delysid d its not the most exciting Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/25/21 Full Review Audience Member This dark and gritty moral drama loses it's nerve come the third act, however, an excellent performance from Jack Nicholson holds it all together and The Border remains never less than watchable. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Saw with Mrs Blobbo at the show when came out. Enjoyed, remember Blobbo. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Jack Nicholson's performance was so electrifying great and one of the best film of all time.! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/19/20 Full Review Audience Member Immigration enforcement agent Charlie Smith (Jack Nicholson) lives in California with his wife Marcy (Valerie Perrine) in a trailer. She persuades him to move to a duplex in El Paso shared by her friend and U.S. Border Patrol agent Cat (Harvey Keitel). Cat convinces Charlie to become a U.S. Border Patrol agent as well. Marcy opens a charge account and starts to purchase expensive items like a water bed as she tries to build a dream home. Cat gradually introduces Smith to the human smuggling operation he runs with their supervisor Red (Warren Oates). Though Smith initially declines to participate, his wife's free-spending ways make him finally take part in the operation. Meanwhile, a young Mexican mother that he has observed is detained, and while she is in their custody, one of Cat's drivers abducts her baby for an illegal adoption. Charlie becomes more and more disillusioned and he finally decides to take a stand for the young Mexican mother and against the corruption he's fallen into... Vincent Canby of the New York Times said the movie "has the sort of predictable outrage and shape of a made-for-television movie. It has suspense but little excitement. Once the people and the situation have been introduced, there's not a single surprise in the film, nothing of the uncharacteristic sort that differentiates the adequate melodrama from one that is special and memorable. Like so many films prompted by real-life social problems, The Border is a movie in which the characters appear to have been created to fit the events. Missing is any sense of particularity, as well as the excitement that comes when the members of the audience are allowed to discover some sort of truth for themselves." "The Border" has a story with good intent (and it´s a quite current one these days in 2017) with immigration, betrayal and corruption, but there´s no surprises nor that much excitement as Vincent Canby of the New York Times mentions in his review. We get solid acting from Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel and the rest of the cast. But that´s just not enough. The film has no real highs and no real lows. It´s like a constant flatline throughout the running time. With that said, "The Border" still engages and provokes thoughts, but with a stronger direction the film might have become better and more memorable. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Border

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Movie Info

Synopsis Charlie Smith (Jack Nicholson) barely scrapes by on his low salary, but his hectoring wife, Marcy (Valerie Perrine), is anxious to move up in the world, so he takes a new position as a border patrol agent alongside the hair-trigger Cat (Harvey Keitel). Soon, Charlie is a reluctant party to Cat's smuggling and other petty criminal actions, but when the corrupt agent sets his avaricious sights on a poor illegal immigrant (Elpidia Carrillo) and her newborn baby, Charlie's moral code returns.
Director
Tony Richardson
Producer
Edgar Bronfman
Screenwriter
Deric Washburn, Walon Green, David Freeman
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Production Co
Universal/Universal Int
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 29, 1982, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 10, 2016
Runtime
1h 47m
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