Don't Come Knocking (2005)

.
"Where is Howard? Who is Howard? He's long gone, he's long gone." Howard Spence (Sam Shepard) is a washed up cowboy actor who probably has been given his last chance to shape up and fly right in a film. But he blows it. Big time. He disappears from the set. The director (George Kennedy) is instructed to continue shooting around Howard's scenes. The film's bonding company sends Sutter (Tim Roth) to locate Howard, drag him back to the set, and make him complete his contractural agreement.

Howard has wandered off with purpose, first to see his mother (Eva Marie Saint) who he's not been in contact with for many, many years, then to locate his old girlfriend (Jessica Lange), and then to find his son Earl (Gabriel Mann). Along the way he connects with a young woman named Sky (Sarah Polley) who is trying to decide what to do with her mother's ashes.

Also appearing in the cast in small roles are James Roday, Julia Sweeney, Tim Matheson, James Gammon, and Fairuza Balk.

All star cast but pretty much a wasted effort. Story was a missed opportunity. I didn't care enough about the characters to make this store work for me. But the music was interesting.

Story by Sam Shepard and Wim Wenders; screenplay by Sam Shepard; directed by Wim Wenders.

Run time: 2 hours, 2 minutes

Rated R for language and brief nudity.

My personal rating: C