Synopsis

In 1955, drifter Clay Hewitt takes a job on a cattle ranch outside a small Kansas town. He becomes involved with Kitty, befriends the troubled young Flyboy, and clashes with the ranch owner's manipulative mother, Delilah. As buried family secrets and dangerous desires surface, Clay's attempt to escape the town's poisonous atmosphere leads to betrayal, tragedy, and a final reckoning.

Factoids & Trivia

• The project began as a play written while John Patrick Kelley was in college in Kansas. He continued developing it during his film studies at New York University, and the screenplay took roughly a decade to reach the screen.

• Vince Vaughn was initially attached to play a much smaller part. The success and industry attention surrounding Swingers helped elevate him to the lead role.

• Ashley Judd moved directly from finishing work on Kiss the Girls to beginning her scenes for The Locusts the same night.

• Jeremy Davies was the first actor attached to the project. To prepare for Flyboy, he reportedly isolated himself for several months and kept his distance from the other performers during filming.

• The film was shot in and around Houston, Texas, including Richmond, Rosenberg, and Sealy, even though the story is set in Kansas.

• A test screening drew controversy because of the graphic cattle-branding, dehorning, and castration material. American Humane monitored the production; the actual ranch procedures were filmed separately, the actors were added later, and the animal organs shown on screen were fake.

• Steven Spielberg reportedly saw Davies' performance in the film before casting him in Saving Private Ryan (1998).

• Carter Burwell composed the score. The film received its international premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 28, 1997, before its United States theatrical release on October 3, 1997.