CLAY PIGEONS
RATING: 7.5 / 10 --> Re-Watchable
Review Date:
October 11, 1998
Director:
David Dobkin
Writer:
Matthew L. Healy
Producers: Ridley Scott
and Chris Zarpas
Actors:
Vince Vaughn as Lester Long
Joaquin Phoenix as Clay
Birdwell
Janeane Garofalo as Dale Shelby
Georgina Cates as Amanda
Genre:
Thriller
Year of Release: 1998
This film is like U-TURN (8/10) without the big name cast, like
RED ROCK WEST (8/10) without the John Dahl touch of noir, and
like BLOOD SIMPLE (8/10) without the Coen brothers' overly
stylish caress. Director David Dobkin tackles this black comedy
about a mysterious small town killer in his feature film debut.
PLOT:
Small town America is the setting. Clay (Phoenix) is the innocent
young man who gets raveled in a tale of two suspicious deaths in
his town. He finds both dead bodies, and suddenly develops an
instant following within the FBI. Lester Long (Vaughn) is the
stranger in town who befriends Clay, and oozes enigmatic. Dead
bodies, twists, turns and bitingly dark comedy ensues.
CRITIQUE:
Quirky little small town murder mystery film, generates enough
style, plot and original characters to stand out among the
umpteen other movies that blazed its trail before it. This film
also has an eclectic little soundtrack, with several well-chosen
Elvis tunes blaring during some of the most gratifying scenes,
but lacks the absolute believability in its so-so ending. Some
people may have a bigger problem with its conclusion, but I
bought it for the most part, because of the way that the
characters had been built up during the entire film.
Vince Vaughn pulls off another dynamic performance as Lester the
self-proclaimed "molester", and spices his character up
with one of the honkiest laughs this side of Fran Drescher.
Joaquin Phoenix also delivers a solid performance as the naïve
country bumpkin caught in a situation highly beyond his limited
resourcefulness, and the female vixen in this tale, Georgina
Cates, pulls off a great femme fatale whose only reasons for
living seem drenched in sex, cigarettes and booze (did I mention
sex?). Speaking of cigarettes, I don't think there is one
character in this film that doesn't smoke (except the clueless
deputy Barney, of course), but then again, I guess that's to be
expected from this genre.
The movie also starts off with a really cool tete-a-tete scene
and ends with a unique, unbelievable to some, but mostly
Hollywoodian conclusion. Overall, I thought the movie worked on
most fronts, delivering the ripped off stylish flair from various
Coen and Oliver Stone based films (But who doesn't rip off the
greats anyway), great performances by all of the main actors and
their offspring, an interesting plot involving murders galore,
plenty of sexcapades, goofy country folk, and a bizarre yet
effective soundtrack to blend it all together. If you liked any
of the three films that I mentioned in my introduction, you will
most probably enjoy this fable as well, especially if you dig any
of the lead actors. Either way, a nacho-chompin' treat indeed!
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars:
Scott Free is the production company that produced this
film. It is operated by the Scott brothers, better known as
directors Ridley Scott and Tony Scott. An obvious wink to themselves in this
film, comes by the way of a scene where actress Janeane Garofalo
is watching a movie in her hotel room, while enjoying some pot
and pizza. The film is ALIEN (8/10)- directed by said Ridley
Scott, and next to the television set lie two other video tapes
entitled: TRUE ROMANCE (9/10)- directed by brother Tony Scott,
and SWINGERS (8.5/10)- the classic Vince Vaughn film that launched his career back in 1996.
Nice touch, guys!
Director David Dobkin acknowledged the influence of the Coen brothers' BLOOD SIMPLE film, but also
claimed that he was equally moved by the adaptation of Truman Capote's IN COLD BLOOD. Dobkin, a native
of Washington D.C., comes from a commercials and rock-music video
background. He's directed videos for Elton John, John Lee Hooker, Coolio
and Tupac Shakur.
The actor that played the sheriff in this film, Scott Wilson, was
one of the killers in the movie version of the aforementioned IN
COLD BLOOD. It was his first film.
Janeane Garofalo originally passed on this script because she thought
there was a misogynist tone to it, but eventually folded, and
loved shooting the flick in wonderfully shot Utah. That's where
she found her dog, Dew. She prepped for her role by watching
"a lot of cop TV" and visiting a shooting range.
This film was previously titled IN TOO DEEP.
(c) 1998 Berge Garabedian
Movie Reviews by Berge Garabedian
Movie Reviews starting with "C"
Related Reviews:
Vince Vaughn:
James Brundage's Review of The Lost World
Berge Garabedian's Review of Return to Paradise
Joaquin Phoenix:
Berge Garabedian's Review of Return to Paradise
Janeane Garofalo: