Cement (1999)

"You'll be a pillar of the community."

The late, great Chris Penn plays a corrupt, drug-dealing, abusing and abusive cop in this modern film noir minor classic. Penn is hip deep in dirty deals with the local mafia when he discovers that his wife (Sherilyn Fenn) is bumping uglies with the son of the local Don. In retribution, Penn decides to bury the kid alive inside a new highway overpass.

CEMENT relies on a number of time-shifts and flashbacks to tell its tale, and the mood is one of dense darkness from start to finish. It's a grand little chestnut with a truly disturbing undertone.

Chris Penn will never have his Academy Award now, but he definitely had the talent and drive to be among the best. October 8, 2006

Good neo-noir

Although nowhere near the league of Blood Simple, Hard Eight, or One False Move, this is nevertheless an effective neo-noir thriller given some real clout by Chris Penn and Jeffrey Wright, among others. They play two cops, partners, and both corrupt--involved with the mob. Wright's character has the added perk of being a druggie and Penn's Bob Holt is pure evil sleaze. He's married to Sherilyn Fenn (a bit on the non-credible side) who has a serious thing for the son of the local mob boss (much more believable).

Not only that, but we got graft and murder gumming up the works. Add to that some of the old Tarantino time shifts and you got yourself a minor but nifty little piece of work. Femme fatale and corruption--and Holt's desperation to hold onto his wife (fat chance)--make this an edgy neo-noir that's a good time killer. You can add this to the crop of lean, small neo-noirs that do a great job at what they're supposed to; the list also includes The Killing Time and Genuine Risk.

Cement is more recent than the other two mentioned above, and well done, directed by Adrian Pasdar, former star of one of the great 80s vampire flicks, Near Dark.

Tight, nifty, fun to watch. Go for it. June 14, 2002

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