Route 9

Made for TV in the same year, this thriller has similarities to A Simple Plan, but is sufficiently different and good enough to stand comparison with that better known movie. In any case the broad plot outline of both is as old as the Hollywood Hills - easy money goes to the heads of people who should know better; their foolproof scam runs into unforeseen events; and the thieves fall out. The acting is uniformly convincing, with Peter Coyote as a Sheriff with marital problems; Kyle MacLachlan and Wade Williams as his two Deputies (and perps); and an impressive Roma Maffia as a Federal Agent. The desert setting is perhaps a little too familiar; but the action keeps moving along, there are some really unexpected twists, and an infidelity subplot is cleverly woven into the main story.