Following a series of drug deals and murders, three criminals -- Fantasia (Cynda Williams), Ray Malcolm (Billy Bob Thornton) and Pluto (Michael Beach) -- travel from Los Angeles to Houston, finally arriving in a small Arkansas town to go into hiding. Two detectives from the LAPD, who are already on the case, contact the town's sheriff, Dale Dixon (Bill Paxton), to alert him of the fugitives' presence in the area. Underestimating Dixon, the criminals have no idea what they are about to face.

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Now, when most people think of Arkansas native Billy Bob Thornton, they think of his film SLING BLADE from 1996. Actually better, is his earlier 1992 film ONE FALSE MOVE, which he co-wrote and also acted in. Directed by African-American director Carl Franklin, this was Franklin’s breakthrough film, where he was finally considered a serious director, at the age of 43, after decades of acting in TV shows, entering the AFI film program, and directing Roger Corman exploitation movies.

The film involves three criminals fleeing LA and taking refuge in Arkansas after a drug deal gone bad, and then things get worse. Also starring Bill Paxton, the film was largely shot in Brinkley, Arkansas, and nearby Cotton Plant.

Gene Siskel called the film “the best film of 1992,” and his film cohort Roger Ebert wrote that

“On the very short list of great movies about violent criminals, One False Move deserves a place of honor… One False Move begins as a crime story and ends as a human story in which everything that happens depends on the personalities of the characters. It’s so rare to find a film in which the events are driven by people, not by chases or special effects.”

It is a rare treat to see this film on the big screen; there will be skullduggery and betrayal galore.