Charlie Rankin (Stephen Dorff), recently released from prison, seeks vengeance for his jail-house mentor William "The Buddha" Pettigrew (Willem Dafoe). Along the way, he meets the ethereal, yet streetwise, Florence Jane. They embark on a unlikely road trip, careening towards an unlikely redemption and uncertain resolution.
Although this film had many good moments (such as the home invasion) and it is possibly Dorff's final acting to date (he has really blossomed in this role) it overall just seems too uneven and did not resonate well with me.
The primary problem I had was with Florence. She was not someone I felt the audience could understand or appreciate. Why did Rankin like her? Their whole relationship is built on nothing. And yes, I understand this is a whimsical road trip without commitment... but she was just the wrong character for such a thing.
And if there was a deeper message, I missed it. All that occurred to me is that Charlie Rankin has the same name as the Nazi in Orson Welles' "The Stranger". I sincerely doubt this was intentional, because trying to draw parallels is far too difficult -- Welles' Rankin is a false identity hiding from his criminal past. Rankin is this film uses the alias Samson and he, too, has a criminal past he cannot overcome. But that is it (and only works in the most vague way).
The novel probably clears things up, but after seeing the film I have little motivation to seek it out.
Although this film had many good moments (such as the home invasion) and it is possibly Dorff's final acting to date (he has really blossomed in this role) it overall just seems too uneven and did not resonate well with me.
The primary problem I had was with Florence. She was not someone I felt the audience could understand or appreciate. Why did Rankin like her? Their whole relationship is built on nothing. And yes, I understand this is a whimsical road trip without commitment... but she was just the wrong character for such a thing.
And if there was a deeper message, I missed it. All that occurred to me is that Charlie Rankin has the same name as the Nazi in Orson Welles' "The Stranger". I sincerely doubt this was intentional, because trying to draw parallels is far too difficult -- Welles' Rankin is a false identity hiding from his criminal past. Rankin is this film uses the alias Samson and he, too, has a criminal past he cannot overcome. But that is it (and only works in the most vague way).
The novel probably clears things up, but after seeing the film I have little motivation to seek it out.