This 1982 film by Tony Richardson fell through the cracks upon its initial release. Thirty years later The Border is an interesting curio with a relevant theme of corruption on the Texas-Mexico border that still remains topical. Richardson seems like an odd choice for this material. Part of the original British "New Wave" which consisted of guys like Lindsay Anderson and Reisz, Richardson had won the coveted Oscar for Best Director twenty years earlier for Tom Jones. Nicholson is really subdued in his performance as border patrol cop Charlie Smith .He doesn't display the usual Jack mannerisms. See Sean's Penn's The Pledge for another example. Uprooted from SoCal to Texas with his material obsessed wife Marcy (Valerie Perrine) he finds himself neck-deep in corruption. From his new partner Cat (Harvey Keitel) all the way up to his boss Red (Warren Oates, in one of his final performances). The movie's screenplay is penned by Walon Green, writer of Peckinpah's seminal The Wild Bunch. Nicholson's character eventual goes on the take, after initially resisting. He later sours when he sees the level of corruption from the black market circle on the border, even to the point of trying to cover up murders. Nicholson later develops a conscience when he helps a young Mexican woman find her missing infant that has been stolen and sold from Mexico into Texas.
The Border doesn't try to get too ambitious with its material; but remains watchable thanks to the cast of players involved. Nicholson's quiet and introspective Charlie is the polar opposite of Jack Torrence or Randal McMurphy. The denouement ends on a somewhat predictable note with Charlie rescuing the infant and having a stand-off with his corrupt partners in a junkyard.
