With a poll soon to be held on IMDb's Classic Film board for the best titles of 2003,I started to search round for an 03 Neo-Noir title to view for the year.Struggleing to find any interesting sounding Neo-Noirs from 03,I suddenly remembered a wonderful review that I had recently read on IMDb's Film Noir board,which led to me discovering,that I was thankfully not out of time,to view a Neo-Noir from 2003.
The plot:
Celebrating a successful arrest which led to a large gangs dirty money being captured,small town cop Matt Whitlock decides to mark the occasion,by spending time with his mistress Ann Merai Harrison.Stopping any sense of fun for either of them,Harrison is told that she has cancer,and that she only has 5 months to live.Originally planning to use her medical insurance to fund the only medicine that the doctor says may save her life,Harrison is left in shock,when she finds out that her husband (Chris) has changed the insurance,so that the only way anyone can get to the cash in Ann's name,is if she dies.
Furious by the corner which his lover has been placed in,Whitlock decides to take the only option on the table:stealing the dirty money from the police station,and giving it to Harrison so that she can afford her medicine.Along with her medicine cash,Whitlock also arranges for Harrison to change the details on her insurance,so that Whitlock can get hold of the cash and give it to Harrison,behind her husband's back.
Arranging to meet up with Harrison later that night, (in order to sort out the insurance details) Whitlock instead receives an emergency call about Harrison's house being on fire.Rushing to the scene,Whitlock discovers that he has signed up for a far from risk-free insurance,when the remains of the burnt out house reveal no sign of the Harrison's or the dirty money.
View on the film:
For the screenplay of the movie,writer Dave Collard combines Neo-Noir with crime caper elements,with the Neo-Noir smoke being scatted as Whitlock begins to relies about what murky dealings he has got himself involved in.Despite the plot having a number of clear flaws, (how did none of the other cops spot the phone number!) Collard uses the movies crime caper side to give the title a delightfully playfully edge,with Whitlock having to go from dodging eyewitnesses to jumping out of windows,in the hope of keeping the Harrison's disappearance and the dirty money loss under wraps.
Shooting on location in Miami,director Carl Franklin (who would not direct a film again for 10 years!) perfectly matches Collard's tones by soaking the movie in warm pastor tones which gradually darken as Whitlock sinks deeper into the Neo-Noir world.Along with the eye- catching colours,Franklin also uses sharp whip-pans to superbly show the desperation that is starting to take a hold on Whitlock.
Smashing his Clark Kent glasses to the ground,Dean Cain gives an excellent performance as Chris Harrison,with Cain splattering a wide smirk across Harrison's face,as he becomes increasingly suspicious over his wife and Whitlock's activities.Joining a wonderfully smooth Denzel Washington,John Billingsley delivers a fantastic performance as the only cop who will try to stop time running out for Whitlock.
The plot:
Celebrating a successful arrest which led to a large gangs dirty money being captured,small town cop Matt Whitlock decides to mark the occasion,by spending time with his mistress Ann Merai Harrison.Stopping any sense of fun for either of them,Harrison is told that she has cancer,and that she only has 5 months to live.Originally planning to use her medical insurance to fund the only medicine that the doctor says may save her life,Harrison is left in shock,when she finds out that her husband (Chris) has changed the insurance,so that the only way anyone can get to the cash in Ann's name,is if she dies.
Furious by the corner which his lover has been placed in,Whitlock decides to take the only option on the table:stealing the dirty money from the police station,and giving it to Harrison so that she can afford her medicine.Along with her medicine cash,Whitlock also arranges for Harrison to change the details on her insurance,so that Whitlock can get hold of the cash and give it to Harrison,behind her husband's back.
Arranging to meet up with Harrison later that night, (in order to sort out the insurance details) Whitlock instead receives an emergency call about Harrison's house being on fire.Rushing to the scene,Whitlock discovers that he has signed up for a far from risk-free insurance,when the remains of the burnt out house reveal no sign of the Harrison's or the dirty money.
View on the film:
For the screenplay of the movie,writer Dave Collard combines Neo-Noir with crime caper elements,with the Neo-Noir smoke being scatted as Whitlock begins to relies about what murky dealings he has got himself involved in.Despite the plot having a number of clear flaws, (how did none of the other cops spot the phone number!) Collard uses the movies crime caper side to give the title a delightfully playfully edge,with Whitlock having to go from dodging eyewitnesses to jumping out of windows,in the hope of keeping the Harrison's disappearance and the dirty money loss under wraps.
Shooting on location in Miami,director Carl Franklin (who would not direct a film again for 10 years!) perfectly matches Collard's tones by soaking the movie in warm pastor tones which gradually darken as Whitlock sinks deeper into the Neo-Noir world.Along with the eye- catching colours,Franklin also uses sharp whip-pans to superbly show the desperation that is starting to take a hold on Whitlock.
Smashing his Clark Kent glasses to the ground,Dean Cain gives an excellent performance as Chris Harrison,with Cain splattering a wide smirk across Harrison's face,as he becomes increasingly suspicious over his wife and Whitlock's activities.Joining a wonderfully smooth Denzel Washington,John Billingsley delivers a fantastic performance as the only cop who will try to stop time running out for Whitlock.