Like his characters, and especially his teen characters, Woodrell's prose mixes tough and tender so thoroughly yet so delicately that we never taste even a hint of false bravado, on the one hand, or sentimentality, on the other. (booklistonline.com)
It starts as false bravado — you're acting like you're cool and confident even when you're not — but if you're convincing enough, people start to believe it. (canadianbusiness.com)
Set during the depression when riding the rails was a way of life for desperate men (and women), the film follows three characters - Lee Marvin, as Number One, a legend among the grizzled hobos congregating along the rail lines; Ernest Borgnine as Shack, the sadistic conductor perfectly willing to do whatever necessary to keep free loaders off his trains; and a young Keith Carradine as Two - Bit, a novice full of bluster and false bravado out to make a name for himself. (rottentomatoes.com)