 |  | storyville , just average |  |
It goes like this; James spader is a former lawyer running for political office. While at the same time looks into the suicide of his father years earlier. Has a dalliance with a vietnamese prostitute which is taped by her father, The prostitute ( Charlette Lewis ) arrives apparently beaten by her father tells Spader ( Cray Fowler ) that her father has secretly taped them. Spader seeks confrontation with father,they fight and father is killed. this is when discrepancies seem to mount up,first of all the father dies seemingly by a slit throat by a knife that Spader never brandishes during the fight. murder weapon left at scene of crime,which Spader takes possession of which is rather stupid considering he's a former lawyer. Trial follows with daughter as main suspect even through theirs no forensic evidence to link her to the crime just her running from the building.Implausible courtroom shootout as well as reactions by everyone involved. Your left with not knowing who actually killed the father.Why Spader is so stupid,and why is their no relationship building with any of the female cast.The movie is portrayed in the deep south Louisiana where you would think intamacy would be no problem.And the movie doesn't even get interesting until 40 minutes into the film. In short the movie tries to make up for its lack of substance with style,which it fails to do, you"ll barely entertained, Spaders done better this is just an average film.
December 7, 2007 | | A true picture of how Louisiana operates. | |
I should know; I grew up there. I agree with Florida, but I think the film was excellently cast, especially Michael Parks as the corrupt cop. Great accent and acting on his part. It may be a bit dated know, since it was made 15 years ago, but that movie is still the Louisiana I grew up in - and believe me, that is how politics still works there.
October 18, 2005 | | Spader keeps this at bay....a mystery with little life.... | |
James Spader (Tv's Boston Legal and The Practice, Stargate) stars as a lawyer running for congress. His father just died, he's divorced and he's being beat by his opponent in the campaign race. Spader has a steamy fling with Vietnamese chick Charlotte Lewis and he doesnt know that her blackmailing father videotaped them doing the deed but she comes to his house and so Spader with the girl go try to get the tapes back but Spader ends up getting knocked out and when he wakes up the girl is gone and the only thing is the dead father with a knife by his side. So, he scrams it fleeing the scene of the crime and the next thing you know the girl is put on trial and he takes the case. Spader keeps this to a 2 star rating with his performance. The supporting cast dont add up to their potential. The result is a mystery drama with little life and breath. You can see the end coming a mile away...well I did anyway. Also starring Jason Robards (Enemy Of The State, Magnolia), Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Jeff Perry (Tv's Nash Bridges), Piper Laurie and Michael Parks (From Dusk Till Dawn, Kill Bill 1 and 2).
March 7, 2005I'm a huge fan of Spader but this was not one of his best. Some parts of the plot was difficult to follow because it was boring and could not hold my attention despite Spader's hotness (haha). The problem I have with this film is the use of the "Vietnamese" woman to carry out the plot. Not only was it bad for the film, it gave Vietnamese viewers like me a bad taste in my mouth once the movie was over. The woman did not look like she was Vietnamese and she was just a medium to add sex and violence into the film. Plus, her fate was left untold after the trial. There's nothing realistic about this movie and Spader's character is not very likable though he's suppose to play the good guy. If you would like to see a good movie with Spader and the Vietnam situation, watch The Pentagon Papers. He plays a real hero in that one and it's based on a true story.
June 24, 2004| | | This movie wasn't really great... | |
I found this movie to be a little too drawn out and confusing, but James Spader did a fairly good job with his role (even though his more recent works are much better). One good thing about this film was the beautiful scenery, colors and lighting in many of the scenes. I just couldn't get into this movie...James Spader's acting abilities were just not at their best in this picture.
June 22, 2004More reviews at Amazon.com ...
Daily Birthdays
(8 reviews)