In the Shadows (2001)
When a stunt man dies in Miami, his uncle, a New York mob boss, sends a hit man to tail the stunt coordinator, whom the boss wants dead. The hit man, Eric O'Bryne, gets close to his mark's daughter, and through her he asks her dad to teach him to do stunts. While waiting for the word to kill this mentor, Eric discovers the joy of stunt work and of being part of a family. Meanwhile, several people are looking for the dead man's briefcase of money and a cloth bag of illegal drugs that he stole from an undercover FBI agent now desperate to get the borrowed drugs back to the bureau. The stunt coordinator says that 'we dance in the shadows of death.' Can Eric step out into the sun?
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To me, this movie is perfection.
Just what I expected
Crappy film
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
A simple if improbable plot that gives Modine a chance to show his own shadowy side. I thought he did an excellent job for a guy who usually portrays the grinning, likeable, young quasi-hero. Here he has a lot of baggage as a mob hit man who is more mechanical than actually living, until he meets Joey Lauren Adams, who gives another lovable performance. It's always great to see James Caan as well, as he reminds me of an actor like Burt Lancaster. I enjoy every moment he is in a scene and how quickly he tends to dominate the moment. I thought the ending was a little surprising, but in the tradition of the classical Greek tragic-hero, it was appropriate.
Just want people to know that Cuba Gooding Jrs character is not that of a drug dealer like some of these people commenting on the film has said. They must not have really paid attention because if they had they would have known that he is actually a DEA agent....
"In The Shadows" tells of a hitman with a conscience (Modine) who becomes a stuntman because this dumdass flick wouldn't work if he didn't. Ill-conceived, sophomorically contrived, poorly written, and poorly directed, this flick is long of atmospherics and short on everything else. One can only watch and wonder how Caan, Adams, Modine, and Gooding climbed aboard such a shabby project. A waste of time for all but diehard fans of the principals and maybe people with some interest in film stunts. (D+)
It took me a little while to get into this movie, but eventually I found it intriguing and sometimes touching. The performances help buoy the plot's inconsistencies. Matthew Modine is good and convincing, not looking like a pretty boy this time around. He's handed a much darker role than he usually plays, and he does a fine job at carrying the film on his shoulders. James Caan is always great, and I was delighted to see every minute of his presence. And Joey Lauren Adams gives another charming performance. Unfortunately, Cuba Gooding Jr. only appears in the film for about 10 minutes. His first scene almost had me laughing--and I wasn't exactly laughing with him. I'm sorry, Cuba was convincing as a street thug back in his "Boyz N the Hood" days, but now it's just laughable. After seeing his dynamite performance in "A Bronx Tale," I was hoping to see Lillo Brancato on screen again. Well, I got my wish and he does a fine job. Unfortunately, he doesn't get much screen time either. One thing that irked me about the plot was how swept away Joey's character was by Modine. She meets this soft-spoken, monotoned, stonefaced guy who doesn't give her much background on who he is, and she doesn't even think for one second, "Isn't this guy a little creepy?" I think if a real woman were to see such a quiet soul who doesn't even crack a smile, she would freak and think he was some serial killer (or gangster, in his case). But as I said, the actors help make the scenes more credible. The ending is touching and sad. I don't suppose I'll remember this film in years to come, but for a little-known film it's surprisingly good. My score: 7 (out of 10)