Boasting two of my favorite television actors in Xander Berkeley (24) and Anson Mount (Hell on Wheels), I had high expectations for David Pomes' festival circuit film Cook County. While there was the occasional bright spot amongst the drug induced rubble, the film failed to deliver when the audience needed it most as we were all forced to sit and witness as a story that bore mass potential dwindle away with the hot Texas sun.
At its heart Cook County tells the story of three generations of meth addicts who take up roots in the woods of East Texas. Seventeen year-old Abe is the youngest of the three in-house addicts, and it is his story that we follow most as he attempts to beat the addiction and save his niece from the destructive chaos he has been forced to call life.
The film's biggest fluster is its pacing. The rare story twist was a bright spot for viewers; but nothing prevented them from slowly and methodically being sent off into a deep slumber as they are forced to witness the irrational and unfortunate life of our three leading men.
The film itself offered no clear point. Events continued to occur and I found myself questioning the whole focus of the story. I got that the niece's future lifestyle was in question, but they came and went from that storyline too much to bring about any true consistency and claim it the central story arc.
Xander Berkley and Aston Mount did a suitable job, especially considering the material they were given. But in the end there is simply no saving Cook County as it sends itself up in flames long before the drugs ever takes effect.
