RED ROCK WEST — CLASSIC FILM PICK

Welcome!

Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does. This ad-free website is dedicated to Agnès Varda and to Luis Buñuel. Punk heart still beating.

Get cool rewards when you click on the button to pledge your support through Patreon.

Thanks a lot acorns!

Your kind generosity keeps the reviews coming!

 

The Dahl brothers filmmaking team were every bit as responsible for contributing to the '80s and '90s Neo-Noir heyday as the Coen brothers, or Quentin Tarantino.

"Red Rock West" is an exquisite example of how far the Neo-Noir genre could be pushed, and with just how much self-referential humor.

It's dream-team cast of Neo-Noir staple actors makes "Red Rock West" tick like a Swiss watch.

Endless reversals keep bringing our redeemable protagonist Michael Williams (Nicolas Cage) back to the place he most needs to escape, namely the town of Red Rock.

Michael is a drifter with a bad knee that makes it hard to find work.

Things from bad to worse when Wayne (J.T. Walsh), a local bar owner, mistakes Michael for the hit man he's hired to take out his wife Suzanne (Lara Flynn Boyle — "Twin Peaks").

Michael takes the cash, but not the job.

Every act of betrayal leads to another in this well crafted tale of greed and bad intentions.

Oh, the evils of money.

Suspenseful plot twists lead to an eye-popping stunt involving a speeding car and a fast train.

No CGI here.

All danger in your face. Thrilling.

Dennis Hopper plays off his character's wardrobe from "Blue Velvet" to juice up intensity of his lethal character here.

"Red Rock West" is a fun Neo-Noir that pays off on every repeated viewing.

Rated R. 98 mins.