ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 2, 1995 TAG: 9512060025
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 12 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: It came from the video store
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO
In most movies, it's easy to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Unlike real life, popular entertainment provides emotionally satisfying results to clearly defined conflicts. But in real life and in home video, things aren't always so straightforward.
Check these three new crime stories. Each is well made with a first-rate cast and production values, and, more importantly, each boasts something peculiar, out of the ordinary.
"Fall Time" is one of the most surprising and hard-to-define movies ever to show up on tape. Despite a ferociously offbeat quality, it's a strong, compelling story.
The setting is rural Wisconsin in the late 1950s. Three teen-age pals (Jason London, Jonah Bleachman and David Arquette) decide to pull a silly prank: a fake murder in front of a small-town bank where Carol (Sheryl Lee) is a teller. On the same day, Florence (Mickey Rourke) and Leon (Stephen Baldwin) are planning to rob the bank. The two actions take place at almost the same time, and from that moment on, nothing goes as planned.
The tone shifts between the dark threat of violence and equally dark humor with a constant undercurrent of ambivalent sexuality. Though much of the focus is on the kids, the bad guys steal the show. Baldwin is a mercurial, cliche-spouting ex-con. Rourke is perfectly cast as a pompadoured pop philosopher in the world's ugliest leather jacket. The two characters are believably capable of anything, and that's what gives the film its unpredictability. The ending is just about perfect.
Paul Wagner makes a strong directorial debut. Comparisons to Quentin Tarentino's "Reservoir Dogs" are not out of place.
"The Glass Shield" is one of the best police movies anyone's made in recent years. It take such a realistic and morally complex look at law enforcement that it couldn't compete in the increasingly formulaic theatrical market.
Based in part on truth, it's the story of J.J. (Michael Boatman), who arrives fresh from the police academy as the only black officer in a division of a Southern California sheriff's department. The first images on the screen are of comic book cops bravely chasing bad guys. Right away, J.J. learns that the realities of the job are quite different. There's racism, both overt and hidden, from his superiors (Richard Anderson, M. Emmett Walsh, Michael Ironside) and fellow officers. Then there are the pressures to maintain loyalty to the department, even when he's asked to do things that are illegal or wrong.
When a young black man named Teddy (Ice Cube) is arrested for no reason and then framed for another crime, J.J. has to decide which side he's on. His only ally is Deborah (Lori Petty), a fellow rookie who's also a woman and a Jew.
At times, writer/director Charles Burnett makes things look too slick and polished, when the story would have been more effective with a layer of "Hill St. Blues" grittiness, and the bad guys are too one-dimensional. For the most part, though, Burnett is successful in making J.J.'s hard decisions seem real and important, and they're what the film is really about.
One other thing about "The Glass Shield" deserves particular attention, too. Burnett tells the story without using any profanity, and he keeps the violent content to a minimum. As far as the language is concerned, that may be unrealistic for these characters, but it somehow strengthens the performances.
Recommended, flaws notwithstanding.
As crime movies go, "First Degree" is a cut above average. Though the characters are overly familiar stereotypes, the plot takes enough unexpected twists to keep you watching.
Investigating the murder of philanthropist Andrew Pine, NYPD detective Rick Mallory (Rob Lowe) promptly falls for the dead man's widow, Hadley (Leslie Hope). Was Pine killed by gangsters who'd loaned him money to keep his financial empire afloat, or did Hadley have something to do with it?
Ron Base's script provides several answers before it's over. Throughout, director Jeff Woolnough maintains a cool, almost cold attitude toward the characters. That's unusual but appropriate because there's really no one to empathize or identify with in this one. The film is more a matter of style and reversal of expectations that might have been crafted to fit Lowe's clean-cut bad-boy image.
Next week: Utterly shameless self-promotion!
New release this week:
Species ** 1/2
Starring Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Marg Helgenberger, Alfred Molina, Forrest Whitaker, Natasha Hentsridge. Directed by Roger Donaldson. MGM/UA 108 min. Rated R for violence, nudity, strong language, sexual content.
If the outline for a really good episode of Fox TV's "X-Files" fell into the wrong hands, the result might have been "Species." At heart, it's a "B" s-f flick that's been pumped up with a classy cast, and is trying to pass itself off as a serious "A" film. The plot revolves around a blond babe on the make who's also a murderous alien. Kingsley leads the team that's trying to kill her. For fans, there are lots of laughs - some intentional - and a few good cheap thrills.
The Essentials:
Fall Time *** 1/2 LIVE. 88 min. Rated R for subject matter, violence, strong language, sexual material.
The Glass Shield *** Miramax. 110 min. Rated PG-13 for subject matter, violence.
First Degree *** Polygram. 98 min. Rated R for subject matter, strong language, violence, incidental nudity.
LENGTH: Long : 105 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Mickey Rourke (left, in the world's ugliest leatherby CNBjacket) and Jason London star in ``Fall Time.'' The film boats a
good cast and a ferociously offbeat quality. color.