ALBINO ALLIGATOR
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1996 Ben Hoffman
Although the writer, Christian Forte, was younger than 24 when he wrote the movie's story, he has fashioned a unique thriller. You will be on the well-known edge of your seat as the three robbers, Dova (Matt Dillon), his brother Milo, (Gary Sinise) and self-styled sociopath Law (William Fichtner) go through their paces. These consist of trying to rob an office, have the siren go off and scare them away, get involved in a police chase in which two cops are killed in a crash, and end up in Dino's Last Chance bar. Boom, boom, boom; it all happens real quickly and we find ourselves in the bar with a half dozen hostages. That is not how the original robbery had been planned at all.
The acting is superb. Janet, (Faye Dunaway and how nice to see her again) is employed in the bar. There are also owner Dino (M. Emmet Walsh), the mysterious Guy (Viggo Mortensen), the young man, Danny (Skeet Ulrich) and Jack (John Spencer), all being held hostage while the three robbers figure out how to elude the police who have surrounded the bar . . . which has no exit other than the front door.
The film focuses on the hostages (with a couple of neat surprises) and on the robbers, two of whom (Dave and Milo) do not want anyone to get hurt whereas Law is eager to kill anyone who may derail their escape. Leading the police and the federal Agents is C D Browning (Joe Mantegna). In a hilarious scene, he gives a TV interview to Action News" Channel 7 reporter Jenny (Melinda McGraw).
I believe there is a blooper. Dave, angered by the police phoning him at the bar and advising him to surrender, pulls the phone from the wall, wires and all, yet later in the film he uses the phone. . admittedly a smallish oversight. I never did figure out what the film's title meant.
Tautly directed by Kevin Spacey. Known for his many theater and film performances, this is his directorial debut, and a fine one it is.
rating: 3.5 bytes
4 Bytes = Superb 3 Bytes = Too good to miss 2 Bytes = Average 1 Byte = Save your money
Ben Hoffman
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