Dir: Scott Caan. US. 2003. 90 mins.

Having made a name for himself playing henchmen or simpletons in films like Gone In 60 Seconds, Ready To Rumble and Oceans Eleven, actor Scott Caan - the son of James Caan - shows he is anything but simple with his directorial debut Dallas 362. Zealously avoiding any number of potential cliches, Caan's buddy movie is a likeable contemporary drama which has a strong sense of humour and doesn't outstay its welcome. The film, which world premiered at the CineVegas International Film Festival last week, should score invitations to a host of other festivals, might snare limited domestic theatrical distribution and merits a healthy life on TV and video even if it is too small a prospect to attract many international sales.

The 27 year-old avoids the self-indulgence often prevalent in movies directed by working actors. The succinct 90-minute film, which he also wrote, quickly gets to the heart of the characters and generates some scenes of genuine drama and poignancy along the way. While the two lead protagonists consistently veer towards breaking the law, Caan focuses on their humanity and friendship rather than attempting any hard-hitting portrait of the criminal LA underworld.

Caan takes the secondary role of badboy Dallas, the endearing bad influence on 'good kid' Rusty, played by the charismatic Shawn Hatosy who got raves at Sundance this year for strong performances in A Soldier's Girl and The Cooler.

The two lounge around the city, repeatedly engaging in bar brawls which are inevitably instigated by Dallas and frowned upon by Rusty's mother Mary (Kelly Lynch) who moved to LA a decade previously from Texas where her cowboy husband and Rusty's father was killed in a rodeo accident.

After one fight too many, Mary suggests that Rusty go to consult her new therapist boyfriend (Goldblum) and, after a few sessions, he begins to take on some direction in his life even though it might mean abandoning his responsibility to both mother and best friend.

Meanwhile Dallas is going from bad to worse, getting involved in the planned burglary of a local gangster's house with a crazy friend (Val Lauren).

There are hints of Good Will Hunting in his story of a working-class man in his early twenties, getting into fights, eking out a living in a non-glamorous urban setting and finding self-awareness through psychotherapy. But unlike that film, which fell back on childhood abuse as the root of its protagonist's stagnation, Dallas 362 shows a young man who suppresses personal fulfilment out of a desire to protect his 'family'. The fragile family unit he inhabits with mother and best friend is a smart reflection of today's dysfunctional US family.

There are many pleasures in the film - a delicious opening credit sequence worthy of Saul Bass himself, choice cameos from Heavy D, Selma Blair and Marley Shelton and some real chemistry between Hatosy and Caan and Hatosy and Lynch.

It's rare, perhaps unfashionable, but nonetheless appealing to see a new US independent film-maker exhibiting such warmth and generosity to his characters. It is a small film but an impressive calling card for Caan's future directing career.

* The catchy title refers not specifically to Caan's character but to a sign on the road from California to Texas, showing the number of miles to Dallas.

Prod cos: Sunlion Films, Konwiser Brothers Entertainment.
Worldwide sales: contact: Shaun Redick, ICM (+ 1 310 550 4000).
Exec prods: Brian Williamson, Beau Flynn.
Prods: Gregory K Sabatino, Kip Konweiser. Scr: Scott Caan.
DoP: Phil Parmet.
Prod des: Chuck Voelter.
Ed: Andy B.
Main cast: Shawn Hatosy, Scott Caan, Kelly Lynch, Jeff Goldblum, Val Lauren, Selma Blair, Heavy D, Bob Gunton, Freddy Rodriguez, Isla Fisher, Marley Shelton