Red Rock West (1994)

Absolutely Fantastic

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

The first must-see film of the year.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The plot is so complicated that it becomes simple after a while since everyone is crooked and all are twisted and there is no straight criminal in this film, no honest citizen either. Everyone is trying to take the others unawares and fool them around and get out of the trap with the money and apart form the only one who was not a criminal at the start, no one will get anything out of this case: all the money will end up in the bushes or in the sheriff's office, once the sheriff has been taken care of. So just follow the ranting story and try not to rave into some nightmare during the night. It is just entertainment and just silly mushy mucky thieving business with all the thieves trying to rob all the others of their shares. But it is true the plot is so tricky it will bring surprises all the time. But be careful there might be a con man or a hit man behind every single tree of this treeless waste land in Wyoming whose only way out is the train.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Red Rock West is a clever and entertaining movie about four people, Michael, Lyle, Suzanne and Wayne (the latter two are married) and $500,000 in cash, hidden somewhere. Michael is a drifter; Suzanne and Wayne have taken out contracts on each other, and Lyle is a cold-blooded assassin. The story is somber, at times chilling and always suspenseful. Michael gets involved purely on a whim, driven by the need to get some money, fast. That immediately lands him in trouble. It is revealed that Wayne, who is thoroughly detestable not because he is so obnoxious (he is polite and civil) but because he is such a dolt, is an office worker for a large firm who embezzled $1,900,000. To avoid the law and provide himself cover, he becomes the law, getting himself elected sheriff of a small out of the way town, Red Rock. Suzanne, of course, is aware of Wayne's secret, which, of course, sows the seeds of distrust, which then transforms into treachery. Once Lyle enters the scene, the formula for catastrophe can only explode into open violence. Lyle is the catalyst for the violence. He also is charming and detestable, but unlike the other three, is far more despicable. Unlike Suzanne, who is implicated in having murdered someone, and Wayne, who is willing to kill to protect his secret, and Michael who is not vicious, Lyle is a predator. Unsurprisingly, once Lyle, played by Dennis Hopper, enters the story, he subsequently dominates the movie.The only problem with the movie is its ending. It's not a major problem, but maybe it could have been reworked. Michael and Suzanne are on a train leaving town, with the money. Lyle is dead and grumpy Wayne has been shot. Michael and Suzanne have already been intimate and Michael obviously cares about her. The caring feeling, however, is not mutual, and in reaction, Michael tosses Suzanne and the most of the money out of the train. This tests the limits of plausibility. A man, strapped for cash, on a train with a young, sexy woman in possession of a huge amount of cash, and whose life he has saved, throwing both her and the money out? True, she points a gun at him, but he knows it's not loaded, so there is no harm. So why toss her and the money out? They deserve each other, and the presence of $500,000 in cash could smooth over a lot of ruffled feathers.

Taking a look at a poll that was held on the IMDb Classic Film board for the best movies of 1993,I found myself getting constantly drawn towards a Neo-Noir called Red Rock West,due to having heard a large amount of praise for the title over the year.Sadly,with the price of the DVD being pretty expensive,I regrettably decided to push any plans to take a look at this tantalising Neo-Noir to the side.2 weeks later:Being happily caught completely by surprise,I recently received an offer from a very kind IMDb'er ,who asked if I would be interested in borrowing the DVD of the film,which led to me excitingly getting ready to pay a long over due visit to Red Rock West.The plot:Angered over getting turned down for a construction job due to having an injury which he picked up in the Vietnam war,Michael Williams drives towards a small town called Red Rock West,after getting advised by a gas station worker to pay a visit to a bar in the town called Wayne's Place,where there is a good chance that Williams will be able to pick up a bar staff job.Finding Wayne Brown at the front of the bar,Michael decides to not reveal his full background details to Brown,when Wayne asks Williams if he is "The Lyle who has come here for a job?".Pretending to be Lyle,Williams expectations of being given a bar job by Brown are left in ruins,when Wayne reveals to him that "Lyle" has not been hired to work at the bar,but has in fact been chosen by Brown to be a hit-man for his wife.View on the film:Placing the dark heart of this Neo-Noir in a full to the brim whisky bottle,co-writer/ (along with his brother Rick) director John Dahl and cinematography Marc Reshovsky soak the film in a warm Neo-Noir Western atmosphere,with Dahl and Reshovsky shooting the movie in brilliant sun setting colours,which along with allowing every member of the cast face's to have a world weary quality about them,also allows Reschovsky and Dahl to show the dark secrets that all the residence of Red Rock West are desperately trying to keep out of the light.Continuing with the underlying Western theme in the excellent screenplay,John and Rick Dahl show the Wyoming town of Red Rock West to be a fading sun-lit Neo-Noir world,where everyone knows each others secrets and deals on how the town is run are made by secret drinks,and beer stained back-hander's,which is seriously threatened of being buckled,by the arrival of two "outlaws" from Texas,one being an unlucky soul who is at the wrong place,at the very worst time,and the other one being a black-clad wearing gunslinger,who wants to take the power of the town all for himself.Being given the chance to sizzle on the screen as this Neo-Noir's sole Femme Fatale,I was disappointed to find Lara Flynn Boyle give a rather frozen performance as Suzanne Brown,with Boyle failing to blend into John Dahl wonderful shadowy world,and also being unable to give the dialogue the fizzle that it richly deserves.Whilst Boyle sadly fails from setting the fuse off,the rest of the cast thankfully attack the movie with a burning hot,ten ton hammer,with J.T. Walsh giving an tremendous performance as Wayne Brown,thanks to Walsh showing Brown to go gradually more desperate for the killing of his wife to take place,and Walsh also taking full advantage of Dahl's stylish directing,by using the close ups to reveal the darkened lies and dirty deals that lay behind the scar's on Wayne's face.Entering this Neo-Noir like a fire breathing dragon,Dennis Hooper gives a fiery performance as the "real" Lyle,with Hooper showing Lyle's initially well meaning first appearance to be quickly slashed away and replaced by an outlaw whose only language is increasing the dirty money that is placed in his hands.Kept right at the centre for the whole of the film,Nicolas Cage gives an extremely strong performance,which carefully balances Michael Williams being a down to earth.down on his luck guy,with an increasing,potential deadly desire to get hold of the cash and the woman that are both just out of William's reach,which leads to Red Rock West being a gravel road that is defiantly worth travelling down.

Red Rock West is directed by John Dahl who also co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Rick. It stars Nicolas Cage, Dennis Hopper, Lara Flynn Boyle, J. T. Walsh and Timothy Carhart. Music is by William Olvis and cinematography by Marc Reshovsky. When a promised job in Wyoming fails to materialise on account of an injury sustained in combat, Michael Williams (Cage) drifts into the town of Red Rock and is mistaken in a bar for a hit-man hired to kill an unfaithful wife. Tempted by the high cash on offer, Michael plays along and promptly finds himself in a web of intrigue from which escape is looking unlikely… Welcome To Red Rock/You Are Now Leaving Red Rock. The studio didn't know what to do with it, a neo-noir flavoured with contemporary Western spices. Put out on cable in America and thriving on its limited release in Europe, it started to gain a cult fan-base. More so after a theatre in the Frisco Bay area started showing it and it made considerable coinage. Today it still remains more of a cult piece than anything else, which while it deserves more accolades and exposure, is still kind of nice for the fans, because it's like we have our own little neo-noir treasure all to ourselves. Red Rock West is essential for the neo-noir heads and well worthy of inspection by the average modern day crime film fan. Plot wise it's a bit, shall we say iffy? Yet the twists, turns and characterisations are so deftly constructed and performed, it matters not a jot. Cage's ex- marine is an honest and decent guy who whilst down on his luck - punished for his honesty - finds himself in a vortex of mystery and murder that he can't escape from. His companions in this scenario are film noir staples, the femme fatale (Boyle) with a smoulder as big as her secret, the hit-man (Hopper) with a glint in his eye to accompany his callous leanings, and the shifty bar owner (Walsh) trying to off his wife whilst keeping his shady cards close to his chest. As the tricksy plot unfolds in a haze of bad judgements and untruths, further pulsed by the vagaries of fate, it becomes apparent that Dahl wants us to know it isn't taking itself too seriously. There's a glorious scent of dark humour hanging in the air, an unpretentiousness about the whole thing that's refreshing. The look and feel is perfect for the narrative, the colour is stripped back to create a moody atmospheric surround, while the score and sound-tracking immediately brings to mind country and western tales of woe. Dahl knows his noir onions, but this is not just a homage hat tipper to the past, he understands what works in noir, be it the blending of the quirky with the edgy, or scene setting in locales such as a colourless bar and a foggy cemetery, Dahl gets the key ingredients right to deliver the goods wholesale. The small cast come up trumps. Boyle as Suzanne Brown is weak if her femme fatale is pitted against the likes of Matty Walker or Bridget Gregory, but it's an adequate performance that doesn't hinder the picture. She is helped enormously, though, by having to share most scenes with Cage who brings his "A" game. Consistently inconsistent throughout his career, Cage, when on form is a joy to watch, here he gets to thrive as a put upon hero, shifting seamlessly between confusion and boldness, where incredulous looks are the order of the day with a side order of eccentric intensity. Hopper does what he does so well, amusing villainy, while Walsh is effortlessly menacing and suspicious. In small secondary support Carhart and country star Dwight Yoakam leave favourable impressions. This is not an edge of your seat thriller, or a cranium bothering piece of dramedy, it's neo-noir done right. Where morality is grey at best and money is the root of all evil, it's slick, playful, cold blooded and absorbing. Hooray! 9/10