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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping modern "film noir" thriller definitely worth seeing, February 19, 2001
"Red Rock West" is a superb and amazingly well written thriller with excellent acting and surprises galore. The plot twists and turns and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. Nicolas Cage plays Michael Williams who arrives in Red Rock broke and out of work when he is mistaken for a contract killer. Bar owner Wayne Brown (J. T. Walsh) offers him $10,000 to murder his wife. Williams is shocked but pretends to go along with the plan. He decides to warn Brown's wife Suzanne (Lara Flynn Boyle) of her husband's intentions but this is where things start to go drastically wrong. The real killer, Lyle (played by Dennis Hopper) then arrives in town which places Williams in many dangerous situations so you will just have to see the film to find out what happens to him next!! Some favourite lines from the film: Nicolas Cage (to Lara Flynn Boyle): "I hate to see an innocent woman get hurt but it's an awful lot of money". Boyle (to Cage): "O.K. How are you going to explain impersonating a hired killer and taking $10,000 from my husband?". "Red Rock West" is a film that did not receive much publicity on its release but is now gaining a cult following. This is definitely a film worth looking out for with a marvellous storyline and many unexpected surprises along the way. J.T. Walsh gave a riveting performance in the film - he was a fine actor and it is tragic that we lost him to a fatal heart attack in 1998. He had become one of my favourite actors in films such as "Breakdown", "The Narrow Margin", "A Few Good Men", "The Client" and many others. He usually played character parts or supporting roles but was always watchable. A sad loss. "Red Rock West" was co-written and directed by John Dahl - a name I was not familiar with - but I did enjoy another film of his recently called "The Last Seduction". I will watch out for more of his films in the future. "Red Rock" is certainly a surprise hit - one of the best thrillers of the 90's. Do yourself a favour and see it! Clive Roberts.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just GO, man!, March 5, 2004
I've watched this marvelous noir movie, oh, maybe 4 times, and my response is always the same. Nicholas Cage has yet another opportunity to just get the hell our of Red Rock, and you can see the conflict and indecision and inevitability play across his face, and you just want to shout at him, `GO, man, just GO!' But of course, if he did, there wouldn't be a movie, and it's such a good one that it would really be a shame to have it not exist. Cage plays a down and out ex-Marine who literally stumbles into Red Rock West, Wyoming. For his sake, you wish it could have been maybe Red Rock East, or Laramie, or Cheyenne - anyplace other than Red Rock West...but no. It's in Red Rock West that he finds himself caught in a web of betrayal that begins with a case of mistaken identity and goes from silly to confusing to scary to terrifying in the space of about 20 minutes. There's a femme fatale, a psychopath (spectacularly played by Dennis Hooper), money, power, treachery, and ruthlessness at play here. Cage is trapped but good, and no matter how hard he tried, he just can't seem to leave town. Bravo, bravo.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Film Noir, yes, but with a new dimension, February 12, 2000
Yes, this is Film Noir, but it's a new step in Film Noir evolution....and not just because it's funny! Cage's character does get into hot water because of one tiny slide into temptation. When he's mistaken for a hired killer, his desperation for money gets the better of him. But he's just too nice to do the job. As he goes deeper into the muck, he has three choices: give in & be corrupted...or walk away & leave these nut-cases to their own dysfunctional devices. Even that wouldn't be enough, though: he's determined to go with the third choice: stay in the game & Make The World a Better Place. Cage can pull it off. His essential goodness seems very real, and the befuddled expression on his face, when confronted by the greed of the other characters, is hilarious. The movie has enough action, but it's really a well-crafted balance of thriller and fable.
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