THE BIG EMPTY American Directions

Steve Anderson’s debut feature is a sun-baked modern noir. Jon Favreau ploys on out- of-work actor trying to make sense of a blue suitcase, 75 missing people, a neighbor who loses his head and a cryptic cowboy.

Deep in debt, John Person (Favreau) accepts a high-paying courier job from alien-obsessed Neeley (Bud Cort). Ignoring the misgivings of his neighbor Groce (Joey Lauren Adams), John heads to a fateful meeting in the desert town of Baker, California. He keeps missing connections with the mysterious Cowboy (Sean Bean), instead crossing paths with a flirtatious teen (Rachel Leigh Cook), her hotheaded boyfriend (Adam Beach), a bartender (Daryl Hannah) and on FBI agent investigating a serial killer (Kelsey Grammer).

Writer/director Anderson introduces familiar characters and situations but imbues them with a fatalistic sense of humor and a twisted view of danger. Everything points toward a memorable ending in “the big empty” of the California desert.