_**A visually striking, albeit perplexing, crime story set in Tijuana, featuring Ray Liotta, Andy Garcia, and Esai Morales**_ An assassin and his associate (played by Ray Liotta and Kevin Gage) are hired to eliminate the new leader of a drug cartel (Esai Morales), who has replaced the ailing drug lord (Andy Garcia). Jordi Vilasuso portrays a rival within the cartel, Armand Assante takes on the role of a priest, Valerie Cruz embodies a woman who develops a connection with the assassin, and Bruce Davison appears as an American agent. "The Line" (2009), also known as “La Linea,” is a dark crime thriller set in Tijuana that leans more toward a contemplative psychological examination than straightforward action. The film shares stylistic similarities, settings, and thematic elements with "Borderland" (2007), though it’s less overtly horrific—even while still presenting disturbing imagery. Like that earlier work, moments of genuine promise emerge within the bleakness, reminiscent of “Apocalypse Now.” The narrative occasionally feels difficult to follow, a problem potentially eased by using subtitles, as some of the spoken exchanges proved hard to understand (my viewing was on DVD and I didn’t have access to them). Despite this, there are many things to value, including the strong performances from the actors, its visual presentation, the somber atmosphere, the musical score, the moving dramatic elements, the raw action sequences, and several beautiful Mexican women. The film is relatively unknown, but it deserves wider recognition. The movie’s length is 1 hour and 32 minutes, and filming occurred in Tijuana, a border region, and Los Angeles. GRADE: B-

Source on TMDB