Colorful ‘Traveller’ Winds Its Way Among Con Artists

It’s not a problem, precisely, but in order to get the full drift of “Traveller”--the directorial debut of cinematographer Jack Green (“Twister,” “Unforgiven”)--you need a little background.

The title refers to the “gypsies” of the British Isles (in Ireland they’re commonly called Tinkers), who make their living running con games, selling dubious goods and generally holding to the proposition that life is a matter of them vs. us (not that that last quality makes them particularly unique). And there apparently are, like the better-known Romany Gypsies, Celtic “tribes” in the United States, living an outlaw existence reliant on guile and a casual regard for mainstream morality.

Their ethnic and ethical insularity is both the intriguing aspect of “Traveller” and the flaw in its story. Having brought his dead father back to the tribe for burial, Pat O’Hara (Mark Wahlberg) expects to stay: To be a Traveller, his father told him, was his birthright. But because Dad left the tribe to marry an outsider, however, he was considered a pariah, and that, it is immediately clear to Pat, is his real inheritance.

But Bokky (Bill Paxton), a purveyor of counterfeit driveway sealant and the fair-haired boy of tribal chief Boss Jack (Luke Askew), takes Pat under his wing, introduces him to the scams of the Traveller (the phony sealer scam, the confuse-the-cashier-at-the-diner con) and tries to bring him up to speed.

Paxton, when not chasing or being chased by tornadoes, is really quite a winning performer, and as Bokky he keeps the film on the ground. James Gammon, a terrific character actor, is a gnarled and comic Double D, the non-Traveller scam artist who gets Bokky and Pat into a really big sting. And it’s nice to see “ER’s” Julianna Margulies out of hospital fatigues and in the role of single mother/bartender Jean, the woman who lures Bokky toward the fate of Pat’s father--love at the expense of outcast status.

But with Pat, Wahlberg has the least gratifying role and one that’s somewhat problematic. He’s on thin ice, yet he chases Boss Jack’s daughter Kate (Nikki DeLoach) almost immediately. (For her part, Kate talks about Traveller-hood as if Pat were trying to become an Eagle Scout.) Bokky’s not all that crazy about Pat either, but rather than make an extra effort to be bad, Pat keeps showing what little talent he has for small-time crime. (Does that make him good?) And he questions the status quo (i.e., the fact that Jack gets a cut of all ill-gotten gains), displaying a flair for the impolitic that will never get him on the tribal fast track.

So it’s a mixed bag. The cast is really fine, but the script requires a lot of hard swallowing. The story moves along briskly and colorfully but gets further and further from the intimate atmosphere that initially makes it so appealing.

The romance of the Travellers provides an intriguing background, although the group’s ethos is violated at every turn. And the soundtrack--featuring Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Lou Ann Barton, Al Green and Little Charlie and the Nightcats--is terrific, even if it has very little to do with the Irish or with Gypsies. So it’s settled: I had a good time. I’m just asking myself why.

* MPAA rating: R for strong language and violence. Times guidelines: some adult content and violence, but relatively mild.

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‘Traveller’

Bill Paxton: Bokky

Mark Wahlberg: Pat

Julianna Margulies: Jean

James Gammon: Double D

Luke Askew: Boss Jack

A Banner Entertainment production, released by October Films. Director Jack Green. Producers Bill Paxton, Brian Swardstrom, Mickey Liddell, David Blocker. Screenplay by Jim McGlynn. Cinematographer Jack Green. Editor Michael Ruscio. Costumes Douglas Hall. Music Andy Paley. Production design Michael Helmy. Art director Skye Bailey. Set designer Steve Davis. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.

* At selected theaters.