The Border

The Border (1982) is Tony Richardson's crime drama, ready to watch online on iFILM. Jack Nicholson plays Charlie Smith, a US border agent on the Texas–Mexico line where bribes have quietly become part of the paycheck.

Human smuggling, babies sold off, officers who look away for a fistful of pesos — Charlie is a cog in that machine and barely questions it. The turn comes when a young Mexican woman, Maria (Elpidia Carrillo), has her infant stolen for the black market. Around him circle a crooked partner, Cat (Harvey Keitel), and a wife who always needs more cash, while his own conscience refuses to stay quiet.

Richardson skips the action route and builds a slow portrait of a man worn down by other people's rules. Nicholson drops the famous grin and plays it low and tired — one of his most underrated turns of the 1980s. Stream The Border (1982) online on iFILM.