It follows a dying hitman (Ben Foster), who escapes a set up and heads to the titular town to plan his revenge, taking a young girl who was kidnapped by his boss (Elle Fanning).

On the drive to Roy's hometown Galveston, Rocky tells him she thought it was a legitimate business because she found it in the yellow pages and had no idea how it really was.

After Roy leaves for a few days and reconciles with an ex from the past he returns to find out Rocky's real story, and that she (thinking he left for good) is escorting again.

In November 2016, it was announced Elle Fanning and Ben Foster had joined the cast of the film, with Mélanie Laurent directing, from a screenplay written by Nic Pizzolatto who wrote the novel of the same name.

[8] Per his request, Pizzolatto is credited under the pseudonym "Jim Hammett" as he felt that Laurent's contributions to his original script did not reflect his vision.

The site's critical consensus reads "Galveston's talented cast - and confident direction from Mélanie Laurent - help set this uneven crime drama apart from less distinguished genre entries".

[17] Keith Watson of Slant Magazine gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, saying: "A pensive but plodding story of criminals on the run, Mélanie Laurent's Galveston is a moody, slow-burn drama that never quite catches fire.

"[18] Peter Debruge of Variety called the film "tough, uncompromising, and hauntingly believable, just a little too slow and a lot too serious for today's typical action audiences.

"[19] Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, writing that "despite its limitations, this is a consistently engrossing, sometimes powerful crime drama that feels rich despite its brief running time.

Club gave the film a "B−" grade, stating that "it confirms Laurent as a significant talent behind the lens, particularly adept at building queasy tension.