KICK-ASS (2010)

written by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn

directed by Matthew Vaughn

starring: Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Grace Moretz, Mark Strong, and Nicolas Cage

Based on the Marvel Comic of the same name (by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.), Matthew Vaughn's (Layer Cake) Kick-Ass is the BEST SUPERHERO FILM EVER!

Why?  Because it does not take itself seriously.  Why so serious, indeed, Batman?

So... how soon before Hit-Girl gets her own movie?

THIEF (1981)

written and directed by Michael Mann

starring: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, James Belushi, Robert Prosky, and Willie Nelson

Michael Mann's (Heat, The Keep, and Manhunter) first directorial effort features James Caan (The Gambler, Hide In Plain Sight, and The Killer Elite) as Frank, a professional thief, and the quintessential anti-hero in this neo film noir.

Loosely adapted from the non-fiction book, “The Home Invaders”, by Frank Hohimer, written in 1975 while he was serving a prison term for his past exploits, Thief chronicles Frank's efforts to create his ultimate "life" - complete with the picture-perfect wife, the picture-perfect child, and the picture-perfect home.

But to accomplish this, Frank must do what he does best -- put down scores.  Big scores.  Scores that will net him and his partner; Barry, played by Jim Belushi (Gang Related, Red Heat, and Salvador), hundreds of thousands of dollars a night. His specialty is breaking into safes, stealing diamonds and cash - no furs, no coin collections, no stock certificates, no treasury bonds, no cartage, and definitely no "cowboy shit" or "home invasions". 

And for a while, everything is going according to Hoyles -- Frank owns a used car lot and a bar, wears $800 suits and a perfect, D-flawless, three-carat diamond ring, and drives a brand new Cadillac every month, -- that is until one of Frank's fences, Joe Gags, is whacked by a local Chicago mobster named Attaglia.

Frank confronts Attaglia and informs him that Joe Gags was holding his money ($180,000) when he went out a twelve-story window.  But Attaglia could care less -- until Frank pulls out his .45 automatic, sticks it in his face, and tells him: "I am the last guy in the world that you want to fuck with!" 

No truer words were spoken.  This was the mob's first mistake.  And had the mob guys heeded his warning, this would have been a very short film.

Needless to say, Attaglia and his boss, Leo, played by Robert Prosky (The Keep, The Lords of Discipline, and Things Change) return Frank's money and offer him a job.  Reluctant at first, Frank realizes that this is an opportunity to fulfill his dreams on a much tighter timetable. 

So Frank, who has always been a loner, agrees to work for Leo, who will set up the scores and fence the merchandise afterwards.  Frank's end will be proportionally smaller, but the scores will be bigger and he will have no overhead.  Plus, he knows exactly what his cut will be beforehand.

Meanwhile, Frank is busy courting Jessie, a hostess at a local coffee shop, played by Tuesday Weld (Play It As It Lays, Pretty Poison, and Who'll Stop The Rain) in an effort to complete his "life", and is busy trying to get his mentor/surrogate father, "Okla", played by Willie Nelson (Barbarosa, Honeysuckle Rose, and The Red-Headed Stranger) out of prison. Okla has a heart disease, and is afraid that he will die in prison before his parole comes through.

Frank ultimately marries Jessie, buys a brand new house in an upper-class neighborhood in suburban Chicago, adopts a child, and secures Okla's early parole, only to have Okla die before he is released. 

In the meantime, Chicago's finest, members of the police department's S.C.U. (Special Crimes Unit) pinch Frank and demand ten percent of his action.  But Frank is a stand-up guy and takes his beating and walks out of the precinct.  And while he prepares for his first score for Leo, the cops hound him day and night, hoping to catch him in the act and give them a reason to whack him.  Frank successfully outsmarts them and heads out to Los Angeles with Barry to do their first score for Leo and the biggest score of their lives.

Upon their return from a well-deserved vacation after the success of the L.A. job, Frank arrives at Leo's house for what he is counting on as a big payday, but he soon discovers that he has been double-crossed.  When confronted, Leo threatens Frank's life and everyone he knows and loves.  This was the mob's second mistake.

Frank reverts back to the man he was in prison. A man who doesn't care about himself or anyone else.  This is the mental attitude he needs to survive and he is willing to die in the process.

After sending Jessie and David away, he burns down his used car lot and blows up his new house, as well as, his bar, and heads back over to Leo's house for a final showdown.

So much for honor among thieves.

While Tuesday Weld's character, Jessie, serves little function above and beyond being an outlet for Frank's expositional recounting of his early years in prison, Willie Nelson, delivers a small, yet bravura, performance, especially in the scene where Frank asks Okla for advice regarding his courtship of Jessie -- "Lie to no one", he says, "If they're somebody close to you, you are going to ruin it with a lie.  And if they are a stranger, who the fuck are they that you got to lie to?"  What better advice can a father give a son?

Michael Mann, who won kudos for his last film; Heat, was virtually ignored when this (pre-Miami Vice and pre-Crime Story) film was released.  In addition to the spectacular performances by all of the above-mentioned actors, Thief is exquisitely photographed by Donald Thorin (Against All Odds, Midnight Run, and Scent of a Woman) and has a riveting sound track by Tangerine Dream (The Keep, Near Dark, and Sorcerer). 

And, if you look real closely, you will see Dennis Farina (Get Shorty, Midnight Run, and Out Of Sight) and William L. Petersen (Amazing Grace and Chuck, Manhunter, and To Live and Die in L.A.) in their first screen roles.

[originally published in VMag - September 1998]

THE RAPTURE (1991)

written and directed by Michael Tolkin

starring: Mimi Rogers, David Duchovny, Patrick Bauchau, Will Patton and James Le Gros

"Then the woman fled into the desert where she had a place prepared for her by God".

Book of Revelations, Chapter 12, Verse 6

Novelist-turned-screenwriter, Michael Tolkin (The Player and The New Age) made his directorial debut examining man's eternal question of faith, in this story of a woman's quest for divine salvation.

Mimi Rogers (Bulletproof Heart, Full Body Massage, and Someone To Watch Over Me) stars as Sharon, a beautiful, yet, lonely, spiritually rudderless, and morally bankrupt, Los Angeles telephone operator who spends her nights engaging in meaningless sexual acts with her seemingly financially independent friend, Vic, played by Patrick Bauchau (The New Age and The State of Things), and assorted and multiple partners.  Through one of these liaisons, she meets Randy, a drifter/hustler played by David Duchovny (Kalifornia and Playing God), with a less than savory background, and begins a casual one-on-one affair.

But something is missing from Sharon's life.  Something that she can't quite wrap her mind around.  That is until a series of events occur in near succession.  It begins with overheard veiled whispers by some co-workers about a Boy Prophet, a giant pearl, and the impending Day of Judgment -- followed by a visit to her apartment by two Bible-toting missionaries who tell her to trust in God.  And then, during one of her and Vic's sexual encounters she meets a beautiful young woman with an elaborate tattoo upon her back depicting a giant pearl within the Hand of God.

Finally, late one night, Sharon snaps and tosses Randy out of her bed and out of her apartment, claiming that she has to change the direction of her life and must seek salvation.

With Randy gone, freshly showered and with clean sheets on the bed, she begins to pray to God. She prays for guidance and acceptance.  She prays for the dream of the Pearl.  But to no avail.

The next day, after picking up Tommy, a hitchhiking ex-con, played by James LeGros (Destiny Turn on the Radio, Gun Crazy, and Living in Oblivion), and lures him to a Hollywood motel for what he believes will be some cheap sex, she steals his gun and sends him on his way.  She then proceeds to drink herself drunk so that she may work up the courage to kill herself.  In the end, she doesn't have the strength and resorts to reading the complimentary Gideon bible and has her first vision of the Pearl.

At work, Sharon is transformed and, convinced that she has to prepare the public for the return of Christ, asks each of her callers if they have met God.  She is subsequently reprimanded by her supervisor for spending too much time with each call, only to learn that he too is a believer.  He invites her to participate in a Bible group and she finally meets the Boy Prophet, who tells the group that they are five to six years away from the Second Coming.

Sharon, having quit her life with Vic, now pledges her love to Randy, assuring him that she will pray for the both of them.  Randy finally succumbs.

Flash forward six years and Sharon and Randy are married and living in suburbia with their six-year old daughter, Mary, happy in the knowledge that the End is coming soon.  

But Randy, now a businessman, is tragically murdered by a disgruntled and disturbed former employee.  Sharon comforts their daughter by telling her that her daddy is in Heaven waiting for them and with Judgment Day just around the corner, they will be seeing him soon.  They must trust in God.

Soon after the funeral, while walking past a Foto-Mat, Sharon sees an image of Randy superimposed in an anonymous family's vacation photographs.  The Boy Prophet tells her that it is a sign from God instructing her to go to the desert and wait for Him.  But no else in their group has had these visions - no one else has been "invited".  She must go alone, as God wants her for a special purpose.  She must trust in God.

With little food and clothes, Sharon and Mary drive out to the desert and begin their vigil.  Day after day, they wait.  And wait.  And wait. 

Soon, Mary, overcome with hunger and grief, becomes distraught and convinces her mother that they should kill themselves rather than wait any longer.  Sharon reluctantly agrees, but after killing her daughter, she once again, does not have the strength to kill herself - not because she is a coward, but rather because suicide is a mortal sin and prevents one from entering Heaven.

Speeding out of the desert, she is pulled over by Foster, a local sheriff, played by Will Patton (Romeo Is Bleeding, The Spitfire Grill, and Tollbooth), who had befriended her and her daughter days before.  When Sharon confesses to the murder of her child, he arrests her and takes her to jail.

In her cell, she continues to struggle with her faith.  She decides that she doesn't love God anymore.  He has too many rules.  He let her kill her little girl and yet He still expects her to love Him.

In the next cell is the aforementioned Tattooed Woman.  She too has found God and assures Sharon that if she were to trust in the word of God, He will forgive all her sins.  But what Sharon wants to know is: "Who forgives God?"

The film ends, as predicted, with the Second Coming and because Sharon can not profess her love for God - because she can not forgive Him for all the pain and suffering He has created on Earth - she is left alone.

She is right back where she started.  And this time it is for eternity.

What is the message of this film?  Maybe Michael Tolkin is holding up a mirror to our collective faces/consciences inviting us to gaze upon our own reflections and ponder our own faith - or lack thereof.  Or maybe he is simply sticking his finger in the proverbial eye of religion.

You decide.

[originally published in VMag - November 1998]

ELECTRA GLIDE IN BLUE (1973)

written by Robert Boris & Rupert Hitzig

directed by James William Guercio

starring: Robert Blake, Billy Green Bush, Mitchell Ryan, Jeannine Riley, Royal Dano, and Elisha Cook Jr.

Director John Ford (The Grapes Of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley, and My Darling Clementine), in addition to making numerous classic films which starred his perennially favorite actor/alter-ego; John Wayne, was one of the few directors who knew how to utilize the landscape/environment and effectively make it an un-credited "character". Witness his use of the Monument Valley in such westerns as The Searchers, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, and Stagecoach.

In 1973, James William Guercio, a music composer and record producer for the band; Chicago, made his directorial debut, as well as, his only film to date (he was replaced by William Wiard on Steve McQueen's Tom Horn in 1980), that would have made John Ford proud.

Shot in Arizona's Monument Valley, by the legendary cinematographer, Conrad Hall (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Day of the Locusts, and In Cold Blood], Electra Glide in Blue tells the story of officer John Wintergreen, a former Marine who served in the Vietnam war, played by Robert Blake (In Cold Blood, Lost Highway, and Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here), as a "vertically challenged" motorcycle cop, with a burning desire to become a homicide detective. As he tells his slightly unhinged, comic book-loving and hippie-hating partner, "Zipper", played by Billy Green Bush (The Culpepper Cattle Company, Five Easy Pieces, and Tom Horn), "I hate that elephant they make me ride under my ass!"

Wintergreen unexpectedly gets his opportunity for a promotion when he deduces that the apparent suicide of a desert rat/prospector is in fact a murder, and Harve Poole, captain of the homicide division, with an ever-present cigar in his mouth, played by Mitchell Ryan (The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Magnum Force, and Monte Walsh), agrees.

Donning his best western suit, his best cowboy boots, and his best Stetson hat, Wintergreen becomes Harve Poole's driver and, together, they set out to solve the murder. However, along the way, Wintergreen becomes disillusioned by his mentor's misuse/abuse of his power and authority, and of his apparent disregard for the truth, after harassing a bunch of innocent hippies who live on a nearby commune.

And, late one night, the abrupt disclosure of Wintergreen's on-going affair with Harve Poole's mistress, the sexy waitress/barmaid, Jolene, played by the voluptuous Jeannine Riley, results in his being busted back down to the motorman division.

Wintergreen eventually solves the case when he finally realizes that Willie, another desert rat/prospector and close friend of the deceased, played by the late and great character actor; Elisha Cook Jr. (Carny, The Killing, and Welcome To Hard Times], misled them in their investigation. Thus allowing Wintergreen to confront the self-important and self-absorbed Harve Poole with the truth, telling him that he was wrong all along, and to "take that cigar, and the suit, and the badge, and give them to some other little mouse that will believe your horseshit."

Wintergreen climbs back onto his motorcycle and resumes "tagging" automobiles, with the knowledge that he is destined to finish his career as he started it -- longing, like many a man, to prove his self-worth. But, alas, in the end, he unwittingly finds himself in a fatal encounter with the very same people he has persevered to protect.

Robert Blake, who began his film career with the role of Mikey, in The Little Rascals' featurettes, gives a heartfelt performance as a decent and honest man who appears to feel more kinship with the hippies then he does with the policemen he serves with. His portrayal of Officer Wintergreen is the embodiment of what we expect in our uniformed public servants, unlike Billy Green Bush's portrayal of Officer Davis, which is what we encounter all too often.

While Electra Glide in Blue is dated, in the same manner as Easy Rider, in its depiction of the "peace-love-dope generation", it is timeless in its depiction of Mother Nature's exquisite landscape, as well as, the emotional landscape of a heroic man living his life in quiet desperation.

[originally published in VMag - July 1998]

BIG WEDNESDAY (1978)

written by John Milius & Dennis Aaberg

directed by John Milius

starring: Jan-Michael Vincent, Gary Busey, and William Katt

"If everybody had an ocean across the USA, then everybody'd be surfin' like Cali-for-ni-a".

Thus spoke The Beach Boys.

Writer/director John Milius' (Dillinger, The Wind and the Lion, and Farewell to the King) third directorial effort is a rite-of-passage/coming-of-age story that tells the tale of three young men, bonded by true friendship and surfing, and of a mythic wave, known as “Big Wednesday”, that comes only once in a generation.  But, in the final analysis, it is a treatise on entering manhood, in the guise of a nostalgic journey back to, and a reflection of, the 1960s.

Jan-Michael Vincent (Defiance, The Mechanic, and White Line Fever) stars as Matt Johnson, the legend of The Point, a popular surfing spot near Malibu, in this unabashedly epic-like, modern day Greek legend.  Along with William Katt (Butch & Sundance: The Early Years and First Love) and Gary Busey (The Buddy Holly Story, Point Break, and Straight Time) as Jack Barlow and Leroy "The Masochist" Smith, respectively, Big Wednesday is the story of their relationship with each other and of their relationship with “Bear”, a former champion surfer and their mentor, who now designs/shapes boards for them. 

Throughout the course of the film, Bear watches over Matt, Jack, and Leroy, dispensing words of wisdom and presaging the day when the "big wave” will come - the day that they can draw the line and distinguish themselves from other surfers and, more importantly, from other men.

Told by an unseen narrator, in a series of "chapters", which are introduced by a "swell" - the benchmark of each era, he wistfully chronicles the film's 12-year story.

Beginning in 1962, with the South Swell, Matt, Jack, and Leroy have graduated from high school and have no future plans other than partying and surfing.  On a weekend trip down to Tijuana, Mexico, Matt learns that his girlfriend is pregnant and realizes that his future has been decided for him. 

1965 is introduced by the North Swell, and with the war in Vietnam in full swing -- a defining moment in their generation and a defining moment within the film -- Matt, Jack, and Leroy receive their induction notices.  And while, Matt and Leroy do their damnedest to avoid the draft, Jack enlists and proudly dons the uniform of the Green Berets.

Finally, in 1968, introduced by the West Swell, Jack returns from the war and attempts to rejoin the life and friends he left behind, but true to the words of Thomas Mann, he can never really go home again.  It’s not so much that his world has changed, but rather, his friends have changed and, ultimately, Jack has changed. 

During these six years they weather personal crises and suffer through the loss of friends and the loss of the their way.  Matt, Jack, and Leroy meet one last time to honor the memory of their friend who died in the war -- and go their separate ways.

The film ends in 1974, with the Great Swell (the “Big Wednesday”), the wave that Bear had prophesied would be coming since 1950. And under the watchful eye of their former mentor, Matt, Jack, and Leroy reunite at The Point and fulfill their destiny.

With an equally epic-like score by Basil Poledouris, and homages to the westerns of both John Ford and Sam Peckinpah, John Milius, who has a cameo as a Tijuana barker offering to sell our heroes some "reefer", has created an accurate recreation of -- complete with Hot Rods and "Woodies" -- and a sentimental tribute to, his own youth and to the way of the warrior.

“Catch a wave and you're sitting on top of the world”.

[originally published in VMag - June 1998]

SWIMMING WITH SHARKS (1994)

written and directed by George Huang

starring: Kevin Spacey, Frank Whaley, and Michelle Forbes

Originally titled and released outside of the United States as The Buddy Factor, this under-appreciated film stars Kevin Spacey (Glengarry Glen Ross, Henry & June, and The Ref) as Buddy Ackerman, a self-centered, self-absorbed, and self-serving Hollywood studio executive responsible for the top box office grossing action-adventure movies of the decade. 

Guy, played by Frank Whaley (Cafe Society, The Doors, and Hoffa), an affable young man from upstate New York, and a recent film school graduate and fledgling screenwriter, is the beleaguered assistant to the aforementioned Buddy Ackerman. 

One night, after a late dinner at a trendy Los Angeles restaurant with three of his co-workers, where he had entertained them with hilariously belittling stories about Buddy, including one about three-time Academy Award winner Shelly Winters being called into Buddy's office for an audition, Guy unexpectedly turns up at Buddy's house and begins an unrelenting reign of terror against his boss.  And when the torture escalates, as it always does, Guy even finds himself recreating scenes from Buddy's own blockbuster movies.

Through a series of flashbacks, we are a witness to what drove Guy over the precipice of sanity and into the abyss of madness.  Beginning with his first day on the lot of Keystone Pictures, Guy replaces Buddy's former assistant, Rex, played by Benecio del Toro (China Moon, Fearless, and The Funeral), who has moved over to Paramount Pictures as V.P. of Production, and experiences the first in a series of humiliating scenes over something as insignificant as a package of Sweet & Low.  This moment is preceded by one of Buddy's numerous speeches throughout the film that begins with the infamous words; "Shut up, listen and learn!"

Afterwards, Rex explains to Guy that all of the work that will be required of him has nothing to do with making movies - it is all about protecting Buddy's interests and serving his needs -- getting Buddy's coffee, getting Buddy's dry-cleaning, and getting Buddy laid.

Later in the week, Guy meets Dawn Lockhart, played by Michelle Forbes (Kalifornia), an independent producer based on the lot and one of Buddy's many former assistants, who has a pitch meeting with Buddy on a project that he summarily passes on as being to small and personal of a film.  Dawn is surprised and embarrassed to see Guy in his new position as Buddy's assistant, as they had an altercation earlier in the day regarding parking assignments.  Realizing that she needs Guy as an alley, rather than as an enemy, she invites him out for drinks after work.  And, as rarely happens in real life, but quite frequently in the movies, in an effort to propel the story forward, a passionate relationship ensues.

When Buddy learns that the head of the studio is looking for a new project that will appeal to a younger/hipper audience, and knowing of Guy's budding relationship with Dawn, he cajoles Guy into convincing her to bring her project (the one he had passed on) directly to him.  Guy, believing that this will ensure a promotion, as well as, make him Dawn's "hero", readily agrees.

Not long after Dawn finally acquiesces and the project is nearing production, Guy realizes that Buddy has been playing him for a sucker all along.  He has no intention of giving any credit to Guy for his efforts in bringing the project to the studio, nor for the work he did on the script to make the ending more upbeat.  In fact, Buddy's maltreatment of Guy only intensifies.  And to make matters worse for Guy, he and Dawn break up after her numerous failed attempts to convince him to stop being Buddy's whipping boy.

And now, all it takes is one phone call to set in motion the raging violence that befalls Buddy and forces Guy to decide what it is that he really wants.

This year-in-the-life of a low-level assistant in Hollywood is every Hollywood low-level assistant's ultimate fantasy.  And while Kevin Spacey and Frank Whaley deliver tour de force performances as the boss from hell and his dutiful lackey, it's Benecio del Toro's character that serves to remind us that in Hollywood, it is not hard work that is rewarded, but rather bad behavior.

Swimming With Sharks, along with Robert Altman's The Player, is chock full of insider material, revealing the, sometimes comical and oft-times Machiavellian, inner workings of the movie-making capital of the world.  And...would make for a perfect double-bill at your local art house.

[originally published in VMag - May 1998]

THE BORDER (1981)

written by Deric Washburn & Walon Green and David Freeman

directed by Tony Richardson

starring: Jack Nicholson, Harvey Kietel, Warren Oates, Valerie Perrine, Elpidia Carrillo, and Dirk Blocker

This quintessentially American tale was originally written to be directed by Sam Peckinpah, but he was forced to bow out due to health reasons and the film was ultimately helmed by the late British filmmaker, Tony Richardson (The Charge of the Light Brigade, Ned Kelly, and Tom Jones), who deftly handled this modern day western with a rare and acute understanding of our American culture.

Jack Nicholson (The King of Marvin Gardens, Missouri Breaks, and The Passenger) stars as Charlie Smith, an agent for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.  Charlie, like most Americans, hates his job.  He would rather work for the Forest Service or maybe the Department of Parks and Recreation, where he can feed the ducks.

But Charlie is married to Marcy, played by Valerie Perrine (The Last American Hero, Lenny, and Slaughterhouse-Five), a  trailer-trash spendthrift who convinces Charlie to relocate to El Paso, Texas, take a job with the Border Patrol, and buy a duplex right next door to her best friend from high school, who's husband, Cat, played by Harvey Kietel (The Bad Lieutenant, City of Industry, and The Young Americans), is also a Border Patrol agent and helped Charlie get his new assignment.

On Charlie's first day at his new job, he feels uncomfortable and out of his element.  And to make matter worse, his new partner is killed in what appears to be a shoot-out with suspected drug smugglers. 

One day while out on patrol, Charlie stops along the Rio Grande and spots a young Mexican-Indian woman name Maria, played by Elpidia Carrillo (Salvador and Predator), as she is washing clothes in the river.  While he tries to engage her in a friendly conversation, her younger brother, Juan, steals the hubcaps off of Charlie's truck.  Charlie gives chase, but cannot catch him.  However, to Charlie's surprise, Maria orders Juan to give them back. 

What Charlie doesn't know is that Maria, along with her baby and younger brother, following the untimely death of her husband, have arrived at the border, from deep within the jungles of Mexico, in an attempt to cross it and seek work in America.

Meanwhile, back at Charlie's “hacienda”, Marcy continues to spend money that Charlie does not have, in an effort to create a beautiful home.  Charlie is exasperated by Marcy's less than frugal ways and allows Marcy to use her sexual charms to distract him.  Deep down, Charlie believes that he loves his wife and is willing to do just about anything to make her happy.

Over the next few days, Charlie participates in the apprehension of numerous Mexicans attempting to cross the border illegally.  He is offended by their treatment at the hands of the Border Patrol and attempts to treat them with decency and respect.  Among these groups are Maria, her baby, and Juan.  When Charlie spots them, and tries to speak with Maria, he is rewarded with a spit in the face.

One day, Cat approaches Charlie and tells him that their job is a thankless one and suggests to him that he could make some extra money running "wetbacks" across the border.  Charlie wants no part of it and declines his offer.

Meanwhile, Manuel, a "coyote" employed by Cat, has arranged the kidnapping of Maria's baby, to be sold later on the black market, while she is interned and awaiting transport back to Mexico.  Enraged by this action, Charlie takes it upon himself to find Maria's baby and return her to her mother.  But all Charlie is able to achieve is getting the shit kicked out of him.

When Cat learns of Charlie's extra-curricular activities, he realizes that Charlie cannot be trusted and sets up a situation where Charlie believes he is responsible for the death of two Mexicans.  Cat offers to help Charlie dispose of the bodies and protect his job, but only if Charlie agrees to join his "operation".  Charlie has no choice.  He has crossed the line that he drew for himself and he has no way out.

Charlie decides that his only path for salvation, is too help Maria and her brother cross the border safely.  But things go awry when Maria and Juan are separated at the drop house, Juan is shot by the coyotes for attempting to smuggle drugs, and the truck that Maria is traveling in is apprehended by other Border Patrol agents -- Border Patrol agents who are NOT on the take.

For safekeeping, Charlie takes Maria to his house and asks Marcy to look after her while he goes to the drop house to find Juan.  Needles to say, Marcy is not happy about this.

At the drop house, Charlie learns that his Captain; Red, played by Warren Oates (Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Cockfighter, and 92 in the Shade), is in cahoots with Cat and the other coyotes, but can find no trace of Juan.

Charlie returns to his house, retrieves Maria, and drives her across the border where they find Juan dead from his gunshot wound.  Meanwhile, Manuel and the other coyote have tracked Charlie down and are gunning for him. After a shoot-out that leaves one coyote dead, Charlie, leaving Maria behind with her dead brother, forces Manuel to lead him to Maria's baby.  Charlie has now found new meaning in his life.  A purpose.  An avenue toward redemption.

On his return across the border, with Maria’s baby safe beside him in his car, he is ambushed by Cat and Captain Red.  But another explosive shoot-out leaves them both dead.

With the final conflict resolved, Charlie returns to the same spot in the river where he originally met Maria and delivers her baby.  Maria is overwhelmed with joy and, for a brief moment, Charlie is not a Border Patrol agent and Maria is not an illegal alien - they are merely two lost souls, bound together by their shared personal experience, in a world with no borders.

With an exceptional score by Ry Cooder and poignant songs by Freddie Fender, this universally overlooked and underrated film, contains a classic scene between Jack Nicholson and Harvey Kietel that should be included in any retrospective of Nicholson's career.

[originally published in VMag - April 1998]