The Slaughter Rule

The directorial debut by twin brothers Alex and Andrew Smith provides very mixed results. The drama revolves around the cold terrain of a rugged small town in Montana where a rambunctious teenager gets a second shot at playing football courtesy of cantankerous older man who seems to be wrestling with his own demons and is over-eager to coach some six-man games. The film overstays its welcome by a half-hour when the actors begin over-emoting precisely as the narrative runs out of steam and starts grating the nerves. It’s a bad combination that transforms a character drama with potential into a bad melodrama.