True West

True West, a tense, explosive tragicomedy, features a struggle between two brothers in the desert outside of Los Angeles. Austin, the more successful son, has a budding career in screenwriting and is home to house-sit for his mother and work on a new piece that is to be produced by a famous Hollywood producer. At home Austin runs into his brother Lee, who has thrived in a more unfortunate life of thievery and alcoholism and is home to steal from his mothers neighbors before leaving town.

Lee stirs up trouble when he decides to pitch his own movie idea to the producer, who chooses Lee’s new script over Austin’s. As the plot progresses Austin and Lee gradually switch good son and bad son roles. Shepard’s satirical wit leads the two brothers on a trip through American fantasies of the wild frontier and the romance of Hollywood.