DePalma rolls and misses
Snake Eyes A Film Review By Michael Redman Copyright 1998 By Michael Redman
**1/2
Personal morals live in a foggy area. Sins for one person are virtues for another. What would be wrong at one time becomes acceptable under different circumstances. Our youthful idealism is often compromized as life goes on. Stealing is dishonest, but there's that proverbial loaf of bread and starving family. And so it goes. Situational ethics can be a slippery slope and sometimes there's a deciding moment where a decision must be made.
Atlantic City police detective Nick Santoro (Nicolas Cage) has slid down that slope about as far as he can. The archetypal corrupt cop, he doesn't just look the other way, he is the other way. He shakes down a drug dealer, puts big money on a prize fight, accepts thousands of dollars in bribes and has a girlfriend that his wife doesn't know about. Strutting about in a Hawaiian shirt like the loud fast-talking cock of the walk, his ambition is to become mayor of his "sewer" of a town. He's not worried about consequences, because "If there's one thing I know, it's how to cover my ass."
Clean-cut Navy Commander Kevin Dunne (Gary Sinise) has invited his old buddy Santoro to the heavyweight fight where Dunne is head of security for the Secretary Of Defense who is also in attendance.
The action is fast and furious. Hurricane Jezebel rages through the streets while boxer Lincoln Tyler (Stan Shaw) is defending his title.Dunne is distracted by a red-head with deep cleavage who doesn't seem "right" and leaves to follow her. A buxom (this attribute seems as common as poker chips in the city) blonde sits next to Santoro and turns to talk to the Secretary. The champ is felled by a phantom blow. Shots ring out from across the arena. The Secretary is hit. The blonde catches a bullet in the shoulder and flees in a blood-splattered white blouse. More shots and the assassin falls, dead, through shattered glass.
Dunne and Santoro take charge of the investigation after bullying the state officials and lock 14,000 people in the building. It seems that the killer is a lone gunman, a nutcase political terrorist with a history of making threats.
It all falls into place quickly but it's a little too easy for the detective. Something just doesn't make sense to him. He has hung out with enough of them to know exactly what a rat smells like. Things are not what they seem. People are not what they seem. Even the blonde is not what she seems.
Most of the actors over-play their roles, but that's part of the entertainment. Cage is enjoyable in his bigger than life character. He's been this person before and has the part down. Sinise does well although Dunne is a bit too stiff to believe. Carla Gugino plays the mysterious faux blonde with a quirky style that is easy to warm up to.
Taking place in almost real time, the movie doesn't give us a chance to breathe. If you look away for a few seconds, you're likely to miss important details. But don't worry, not watching is the last thing the audience will do as the action jumps off the screen. The film never stops moving.
Veteran director Brian DePalma knows how to set a mood. Beginning with a single twenty-minute shot of Santoro swaggering through the arena, the camera is definitely the star of the show. Liberally using a subjective point of view, he shows us the events through the eyes of several of the participants. Each gives more clues as to what actually happened. There's a magnificent shot from the ceiling that slowly moves from hotel room to hotel room. We see empty rooms, an out-of-control party, intimate moments and finally a blonde washing blood out of a white top.
There is an interesting point where duty, loyalty and personal ambitions come into conflict. One of the characters knows the right thing to do. He also knows the best thing for him. Unfortunately these are not the same. If there is a theme to the film, this is it. When do you put aside your personal interests for the benefit of others and the salvation of your own soul?
The scenes are so well constructed and the energy so frenzied that it's easy to overlook the film's flaws. Until the ending. There are problems before this. Although the true killer is revealed too soon, it's still great fun But then there's that last ten minutes.
Without giving too much away, the film completely falls apart. The situation is dire. Santoro is so beat up he can hardly walk, but he's attempting to save the damsel in distress. The real killer is following him to eliminate his last few witnesses. She's locked in a storage room and can't get out. The storm is worse and explosions from the sky overwhelm the sound track. Electricity sputters in the wet streets. The situation is tense.
And then? And then, events occur that have nothing to do with anything that has happened previously and solve everything. Deus ex machina is a technique used in poor novels and it doesn't work any better in films.
To make matters worse, there's another ending tacked on: a "several days" later where one of the bad good guys gets his just desserts. If that's not enough, there's yet another ending after that to provide the happy resolution that Hollywood thinks audiences need.
Like far too many films, this could have been excellent with just a little care. As it is, you'll have a good time during ninety percent of the movie, but you'll leave saying "What were they thinking?"
(Michael Redman has written this column for over 23 years and finds that he still is capable of being disappointed when something goes wrong. Email your cinematic frustrations to redman@bvoice.com)
[This appeared in the 8/13/98 "Bloomington Voice", Bloomington, Indiana. Michael Redman can be contacted at redman@bvoice.com]
-- mailto:redman@bvoice.com This week's film review at http://www.bvoice.com/ Film reviews archive at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Michael%20Redman
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