Paleo Retiree writes:
When I saw it on release in 1993, I took this crime yarn, directed by John Dahl and written by Dahl and his brother Rick, as a postmodern joke — a droll riff on smalltown noir themes. The surprise for me watching it a few days ago was how well it works as a tense and juicy picture in its own right. It ain’t just a put-on (although it’s certainly that too). The actors (led by Nicolas Cage, Dennis Hopper, Lara Flynn Boyle and J.T. Walsh) chew the scenery in the best downtown-theater/B-movie way, the story twists surprise and delight, and the atmosphere is irresistible. I’ve become a big John Dahl fan, if rather late in the game.
Related
- The film is available at Netflix but only as a DVD. You can buy a used copy for around $6 from Amazon.
- I’ve enjoyed Dahl’s “The Last Seduction, “Joy Ride” and “You Kill Me” too.
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Uncouth Reflections 
Love this. Dahl is terrific. I think this is probably his best.
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Netflix adds a good new movie about twice a year. Why are they so slow to update their list?
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I loved this one too. And “The Last Seduction,” of course. Why didn’t Linda Fiorentino become a star? Was it because the movie’s release was bungled?
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I also liked “Kill Me Again.”
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Linda Fiorentino had a few years when she was a pretty big deal. My impression is that what did her in (so far as being a mainstream star went) was “Jade,” a big-budget William Friedkin movie that the public didn’t go for. I semi-liked the picture myself — it was juicy and outrageous in the Friedkin way. But I think the business took the film’s flop as a sign that Fiorentino couldn’t carry a mainstream movie. That wised-up, dirty-minded thing she did in “Last Seduction” was a hoot, wasn’t it? I loved the scenes in upstate NY (my old stomping grounds) where she couldn’t believe the rubes she was having to deal with. My people! What’s she been up to recently, does anyone know?
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“Joy Ride” is pretty great: stylish as heck in a modest-budget, cooled-out way but plenty intense too.
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