Man With a Gun. Image and
October Films presents an Avi Lerner, Danny Dimbort, Trevor Short Northwoods
Pictures. Released as a feature film in 1995. Based on the novel The Shroud Society by Hugh C. Rae. David
Wyles, director; George Blondheim, music; Laurie Finstad-Knizhnik; Jan Kiesser,
director of photography. With: Michael Madsen, Jennifer Tilly, Gary Busey,
Robert Loggia, Ian Tracey.
Pros: score, acting, settings, action scenes
Cons: murky script, murkier look
Neo-noir gone awry
Man with a Gun is
an offbeat thriller about a hit man hired by a shady real estate developer who moonlights as a mob boss wannabe. The job is to do in the mobster’s blackmailing wife. The
twist is the mark just happens to be the assassin’s girlfriend. Also, said
girlfriend has a twin sister. As we might expect, things get complicated along
the way.
I can’t quite decide whether MWAG is a neglected minor masterpiece or just a glossed up, schlocky
noir parody. Not so surprising then that most of the opinions I’ve read have been mixed to the point of polarized. The movie reminded me of Mulholland Falls, made at much
the same time and a more polished film, but similarly criticized for being too
much surface but not enough substance. MWAG also has overtones of the much more recent tough guy film Parker, also reviewed in these pages.
Actually the cast is rather good: Madsen seems a natural for
the role of the proverbial hit man with a conscience. And he does the
hardboiled voice-over very effectively, in wearier-than-world-weary manner. Loggia
is silken smooth as the aging don and Meg is convincing as extreme opposite
good/bad sisters.
But the cast may be most noteworthy for Ian Tracy as a mob
strongman. Tracey later went on to a huge career in Canada. The writer knows
him mostly through the Canadian TV movies Da
Vinci’s Inquest and Intelligence.
Canadian-made and notable for its novel Pacific Northwest
locales, MWAG was apparently filmed
in Vancouver, BC, but the visuals seem to suggest the story takes place in
Seattle or Tacoma. As mentioned the film is a neo-noir, with heavy emphasis on the noirish look: Man with a Gun has a murky,
smoky patina that makes most classic noirs seem like a Kansas cornfield at noon
in July. Recommended, more or less.
style ***
substance **1/2
No comments:
Post a Comment