If only! The cast in this movie could not be improved upon. Every one of them commands the screen with their good looks and even better talents: Ed Harris, Madeleine Stowe, Benicio del Toro, and Charles Dance. If only Dance's character had some depth, some redeeming quality, or irresistible charm-- some reason for Rachel to have married him, let alone stay married. But no. Even the name he's given, Rupert Munro, is ugly.
This is one of very few features directed by John Bailey (he was primarily a cinematographer, and an interesting one if you look at IMDb trivia), and he keeps interest high with swift pacing and wise use of close-ups of his principal actors. The plot involves a murder and a cover-up, the details of which are credible and intricate without being convoluted. You see what you need to, to follow the evidence along with detective Kyle Bodine, whom Harris embodies as a thoughtful, compassionate detective, always proceeding with due deliberation-- until love strikes. Then he's as fallible as the rest of us, and Stowe is utterly convincing as a woman who could inspire that kind of overpowering passion, as well as a woman who might just be a duplicitous and manipulative sociopath. Between those two extremes, Bodine gets trapped-- framed for murder, but by whom if not Rachel? Harris delivers a masterful performance of a man whose personal and professional lives are at war: he must temper his fiery love with cold proficiency.
Then there's Benicio del Toro, and wow. Even with those co-stars (and Roger Aaron Brown, who always delivers), he almost steals every scene he's in, wringing every ounce of versatility out of the role of Bodine's rookie partner. At age 24, he was already a force.
This is one of very few features directed by John Bailey (he was primarily a cinematographer, and an interesting one if you look at IMDb trivia), and he keeps interest high with swift pacing and wise use of close-ups of his principal actors. The plot involves a murder and a cover-up, the details of which are credible and intricate without being convoluted. You see what you need to, to follow the evidence along with detective Kyle Bodine, whom Harris embodies as a thoughtful, compassionate detective, always proceeding with due deliberation-- until love strikes. Then he's as fallible as the rest of us, and Stowe is utterly convincing as a woman who could inspire that kind of overpowering passion, as well as a woman who might just be a duplicitous and manipulative sociopath. Between those two extremes, Bodine gets trapped-- framed for murder, but by whom if not Rachel? Harris delivers a masterful performance of a man whose personal and professional lives are at war: he must temper his fiery love with cold proficiency.
Then there's Benicio del Toro, and wow. Even with those co-stars (and Roger Aaron Brown, who always delivers), he almost steals every scene he's in, wringing every ounce of versatility out of the role of Bodine's rookie partner. At age 24, he was already a force.
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