Red Rock West
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Movie Reviews of Red Rock West
Movie Review: Very Very Good
Summary: 5 Stars
Excellent story, not a big Cage fan, but he was superb and Dennis Hopper, what can you say. Worth it for mystery/action fans.Movie Review: And again...
Summary: 5 Stars
...a real good movie, I watched it several times, and it does not get boring! Great stuff, a must see for all Cage fans.Movie Review: Red Rock West: every turn a re-turn
Summary: 4 Stars
The film opens on shot of a long, empty stretch of highway, rising and falling ever so gently towards the horizon; then a shot of a car motionless on the berm. The door opens and Michael slowly slides from the front seat where he had been sleeping. Only just awake, he puts a brace on his bum leg, walks around to the trunk where he takes out a pair of jeans. In jeans and a t-shirt, he does a few push-ups, puts on a clean shirt, combs his hair and practices a few "hi, how-are -you's." Michael, played by Nicolas Cage, is an unemployed ex-marine who's just driven from Texas to Wyoming with the promise of a job on a drilling crew. But he's too honest to hide his leg from the crew boss and is turned away. And after having spent his last $5 on gas, Michael wanders into Red Rock, Pop. 874, enters a bar and asks for a cup of coffee. The owner, Wayne, seeing his Texas plates, mistakes him for someone he's hired long-distance to come kill his wife Suzanne. In a series of misunderstandings, Michael leaves the bar with $5000 in cash and only a half-knowledge of what he's going to do next. He finally decides to visit and warn the wife, who, in turn, offers him $10,000 to murder her husband. Michael takes the money but with the sole intention of running. Unfortunately, Michael finds that as hard and fast as he runs, he is forever returning--whether wittingly or unwittingly--to Red Rock. He has fallen into a kind of maze whose every turn serves only to reveal the deceiving promise of the previous turn. But that is the very engine for both the riveting intrigue and the eerie dark comedy that accompanies this fundamentally decent, world-weary soul whose honesty and benefit-of-the-doubt-granting credulity lead him through a succession of plot twists too numerous, unexpected and original to bear comparison with any contemporary wannabe.
I won't tell you what happens next; it would be cinemaphile sacrilege to reveal the tricks behind the narrative magic that would otherwise have held you spellbound. For something thoughtful, funny, frightening and joyfully unpredictable, why not considerRed Rock West, directed by John Dahl. Starring Nicolas Cage, Dennis Hopper, Lara Flynn Boyle, J. T. Walsh and Dwight Yoakam in his debut film role
Movie Review: Fantastic, low-budget film noir
Summary: 4 Stars
Red Rock West is a perfect example of how good a film can be with practically no budget. All you need is a smart script, good actors and loads of atmosphere. RRW delivers all these and more.
Nic Cage plays an ex-marine, injured in Lebanon, who is down to his last 5 dollars after being refused a job on an oilfield because of his bad knee. He roles into Red Rock and is mistaken by bartender Wayne (JT Walsh, not quite as his most menacing-but still evil) for a hit-man from Texas.
He pays him to kill his wife and make it look like burglary. Only when he gets there, just to check her out. She offers him double to kill Wayne. Cage just wants to get the hell out of town with his free money and leave the sparring lovers be. But a series of mishaps and setbacks results in him yo-yoing in and out of Red Rock, back and forth. Eventually this leads to a run-in with Lyle from Dallas (a cheeky and somehow sympathetic Dennis Hopper), the REAL hit-man from Texas who offers to help without knowing he's making the plot more complicated.
RRW never had a big release, thus most of it's audience discovered it on video or on cable TV showings. Viewing it in such a way might make it seem like a TV movie but it's bigger than that. The slick, slowly-timed direction, moody score and howling desert wind would have all made for a great movie in theatres but the best you can do these days is watch the DVD on a big HDTV.
The only weak point of the movie I can think of is Lara Flynn Boyle's boring femme fatale with the nasty dyke-ish hairdo. I certainly wouldn't fall for her but if you assume that Nic Cage's character is in to militant lesbians then you'll accept it nonetheless.
The DVD is in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 2.0 sound and a commentary by the director.
Movie Review: A Nice Dose of Murderous Double Crossing
Summary: 4 Stars
A basically decent drifter (Nicolas Cage) lands in the tiny town of Red Rock, Wyoming, looking for work. When he stops in the bar, the bar owner (J. T. Walsh) asks why he took so long and asks him to step in the back office so they can discuss the job. Cage plays along, then discovers the work is to kill the bar owner's wife. He takes the money, drives out to the ranch to warn the wife (Laura Flynn Boyle), and starts to leave town. Problems arise and he returns to town in time to witness the real hit man (Dennis Hopper) arrive. Things go downhill for the Cage character after that.This is an excellent, convoluted, well-acted and offbeat mystery. Funny, too. Cage never knows what's happening, but everybody else assumes he does. Dennis Hopper again plays a charming semi-psycho but he hadn't patented the style yet so it seems fresh. J. T. Walsh was a great character actor who died young. He's outstanding as the bar owner...who also happens to be the sheriff. He has one or two other secrets as well. And if Boyle doesn't rev your engine, you may need a tune up. She's more ruthless than the lot of them.
The DVD transfer is clean and clear.