No stranger to literary adaptations, Michael Winterbottom sinks his teeth into Jim Thompson's noir classic for this cinematic murder ballad. Set in 1950s Texas, the story centers on Lou Ford (Casey Affleck, chilling yet strangely sympathetic), whose polite demeanor masks a murderer (and marks Affleck's second lethal Ford after "The Assassination of Jesse James"). The deputy doesn't lack for compassion, but a twisted childhood drives him to inflict pain. He's also a pathological liar, though a union leader (Elias Koteas) and an attorney ("The Mentalist"'s Simon Baker) have their doubts. When Joyce (Jessica Alba), a hooker, gives him a hard time, Ford slaps her around, apologizes, and then falls for the feisty lady, even though his boss (Tom Bower), on orders from a construction magnate (Ned Beatty), asked him to escort her out of town. Plus, Lou already has a girl, schoolteacher Amy (a brunette Kate Hudson), so he finds a more expedient way to push Joyce--and other inconvenient individuals--out of the picture, but he isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and his slip-ups outnumber his successes until he comes up with a plan to solve his problems once and for all. Cowriter John Curran's dialogue preserves Thompson's pungent text, though Affleck's drawl renders a few lines indistinguishable. Still, the film looks right for the era with bursts of graphic violence that feel postmodern. If it doesn't surpass "The Grifters", "The Killer Inside Me" offers some of the same sinister thrills as "No Country for Old Men". "--Kathleen C. Fennessy"