What’s this all about?
Michael (Nicolas Cage), an injured Marine Corps veteran travels from Texas to Wyoming in search of a job working on oil rigs.Finding himself destitute when his only prospect falls through, he stumbles into a job intended for another man, and takes it, before realizing that the “job” is a murder-for-hire in tiny Red Rock, Wyoming.
He quickly devises a plot which will enable him to leave town with a large amount of money without actually killing anyone. As is so often the case, complications arise, ultimately leading to a fight to the death in a cemetery with Dennis Hopper.
Red Rock West is what I like to call a “crime of opportunity” movie. It’s not really a heist movie, as it lacks the planning phase, but a crime (that should be simple) get committed, and our protagonist spends the rest of the movie dealing with increasingly difficult complications.
Who is Nick in this one?
Nick plays “Michael,” a Marine Corps vet who survived the bombing of the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon in 1983. In that bombing, he received a grievous leg injury, which has prevented him from finding work in his preferred vocation; working on oil rigs.
He’s an upstanding, honest, moral character who is driven to crime by his situation.
Who else is in this one?
Lara Flynn Boyle plays “Suzanne,” the wealthy but faithless wife of Red Rock West’s corrupt sheriff. She kills her lover, is targeted for murder by her husband, and ultimately goes on the run with Michael. This wasn’t a particularly memorable role for Flynn Boyle. She’s fine, I guess.
Timothy Carhart plays a deputy who works for the corrupt Sheriff, but who isn’t corrupt himself. He played a lot of assholes in the 90’s (Ghostbusters, Beverly Hills Cop III, Black Sheep). You definitely know him. He’s unremarkable in this except for his stupid 90’s haircut, which looks ridiculous, but I would have worn it in a heartbeat in 1993, if I could have grown that much hair.
Dennis Hopper plays “Lyle from Dallas,” the hitman summoned by the sheriff to kill his wife. Hopper comes across creepy, smart, dangerous, and more than a little insane, just like Dennis Hopper should.
Apparently, Hopper had to convince the producers/director that he should play the hitman, instead of the sheriff. The fact that only Hopper realized that he was being badly miscast shocks me. Hopper’s performance is the shining star in this film.
Did you see that?
During the final showdown in the cemetery, the Sheriff has gotten the drop on Dennis Hopper, and everyone else. He’s standing behind a car door with a gun, directing everyone else’s movements.
Dennis Hopper begins to approach him, negotiating like a greasy used car salesman, with sort of a half whine in his voice. The Sheriff repeatedly instructs him to stop moving. This goes back and forth for several passes, as Hopper negotiates, offers and whines.
Then, without warning or hesitation, Hopper drops a previously-hidden throwing knife into his hand, and hurls it into the Sheriff’s neck, completely upending the dynamic of the scene.
It reinforces that Hopper’s character is creepy, dangerous, and wildly unpredictable, but it shows that he’s also very, very good at being a hired killer.
I didn’t see the knife throw coming, and I was paying attention. -Michael
This movie had some great physical acting. My favorite was a scene where Nick was in the car with the sheriff trying to talk his way out of the situation. He wanted the sheriff to just let him go and leave town to never be seen again. The sheriff looked like he might go for it and put the handcuff keys on the dashboard of the car. Nick saw the trap coming and did this great roll out of the car, while slamming the door on the sheriff’s hand causing him to drop his gun, giving Nick an opportunity to get away. It was fantastic and followed by an even better chase scene. -Sarah
What were Nick’s best parts?
A scene early in the movie has established that Michael has only five dollars to his name, and that his car is out of gas. He stops in a remote gas station, and fails to find an attendant. He notices that the cash drawer is open and unattended. Cage manages to convey the conflict of an honest man being tempted by the lure of crime, and literal hunger, who steels himself to stay honest without a single word.
It’s a really well done scene, and Cage sells it perfectly. He is capable of nuance and subtlety. I just don’t think he’s a fan. -Michael
I have to agree, this was hand’s down Nick’s best scene. Just to mention one more, there was this great scene where Nick was running from Dennis Hopper. He had just escaped through a bathroom window in a bar, but instead of running away on the ground, he went up. He used a random 2×4 that was magically there to make a bridge to a top of a semi. Which of course he got to just before it took off and Hopper was getting to the roof to look for him. A bit coincidental, but well done by Nick. -Sarah
What were Nick’s worst parts?
I’m starting to sound like a broken record, here, but the worst scene in the movie involves Nick yelling during dialog.
He’s come out from hiding to reveal himself to Suzanne, and to explain to her that he has been hired by her husband to kill her. The scene has a dark, hushed, almost intimate quality. Nick decides that three or four words just need to be screamed, as loud as he can, which is jarring, but not in the way that I think Nick wants it to be.
I think he wants the viewer to say, “wow, this guy’s intense.”
As the viewer, I said “wow, this guy has some rare form of Tourette’s Syndrome.” -Michael
Michael is right. There was only one yelling scene that was just over the top, but I’m impressed that it only happened once in the movie. All other yelling scenes were the right amount of yell for the scene. -Sarah
How was the movie?
Elmore Leonard, the master of crime fiction, wrote a lot of these “crime of opportunity” screenplays. He didn’t write this one.
It’s not as tight, or as clever as anything that Elmore wrote, but all of the pieces are there, and they work. For the most part, characters have clear motivations and flaws. People don’t do stupid things for no reason. The situations are believable. Actions have consequences.
I really like this kind of movie, and this one was just fine for a Friday night of entertaining movie watching. It’s like the crime version of a Hallmark movie. There’s nothing new or innovative here, and if you watch closely, you’ll see all of the twists coming, but it’s a fun story where cool stuff happens. -Michael
It was a good movie. -Sarah
Yeah, but did you like it?
I did. I won’t seek to watch it again, or quote it to my friends, but it was a good movie. -Michael
Yep, I recommend it. -Sarah
Where can I watch it?
Good luck finding this one. You’re going to need to buy the DVD/Blu-Ray, or keep your eyes on late night cable crime channels.
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