11/10/2023 0 Comments Carla gugino snake eyesLike that 1981 thriller, this yarn centers on a politically motivated killing and the protagonist's attempt to determine whodunit by reviewing recorded evidence. He's virtually lifted a couple of Hitchcock's movies and Antonioni's "Blowup," and since Coppola's "The Conversation" was a source for "Blow Out," hail, hail, the gang's all here. The technique was pioneered in "Rashomon" by Akira Kurosawa, one of the many directors who have influenced De Palma's narrative style. But it most resembles the director's "Blow Out," which similarly deconstructs the events that lead up to a fictional shooting from multiple points of view. As an unrepentant cop on the take, Cage's Rick Santoro finds himself in a quagmire of false leads and untruths when a limelight-loving politico is plugged on his turf.Ĭorruption, conspiracy and just plain paranoia are among the movie's many themes, which can be said of just about any film De Palma ever made. Nicolas Cage, who sported wings as a somber seraphim in this spring's "City of Angels," returns to more devilish pursuits in Brian De Palma's "Snake Eyes." A glittery but dunderheaded murder mystery set in Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal, the movie gives both of these high-rollers a chance to strut and preen.Ĭage, swaggering like a pimp and spitting out quips with maniacal glee, plays to the rafters. What happened while he was writing this one? I wouldgenuinely be curious to know how a professional screenwriter and an importantdirector could both agree that “Snake Eyes” has a last act they're willing tosign their names to.Nicolas Cage is over the top but under control as the Atlantic City police officer in "Snake Eyes." I can't describe itin detail without giving away too much of the plot, but imagine a grand climaxin which a hurricane strikes Atlantic City and all of the key players findthemselves standing outdoors in the middle of it, on live TV.ĭavid Koepp, the writer, has been associated with somesuccessful movies (“ The Paper,” “ Jurassic Park,” De Palma's “ Carlito's Way” and“ Mission: Impossible”). somebodyelse will!” Then comes an ending so improbable it seems to have been fashionedas a film school exercise: Find the Mistakes in This Scene. How likely is it, for example, insidea coliseum crawling with law enforcement, where thousands of fans have beenforcibly detained, that no one would notice the heavyweight champ beating up acop? De Palma supplies one more fine shot, looking straight down through theceilings of a series of hotel rooms until he finds the one he's looking for.But he's not on guard against lame dialogue, and at one point the desperateGugino, looking for a place to hide and trying to persuade a guy to take herupstairs to his room, actually says, “If you don't. But there arealso moments of dreadful implausibility. And moments when De Palma brutally rips upeverything we thought we knew and makes us start all over again. There are nice ideas here, as when the Gugino character losesher glasses and has to flee from the bad guys without being able to seeanything other than a blur. Occasionally we'll see a moment thatdoesn't seem to fit, and then it will be explained later, and eventually theoutlines of a conspiracy become clear. He shows an action andthen repeats it from various points of view, adding information until a jigsawpuzzle of information falls into place. It's a small cast, in a story using a structure De Palma has hadfun with in the past, in films like “ Blow Out” (1981). The other key characters are played by Gary Sinise, as a Navyofficer who has taken over command of the security at the prize fight CarlaGugino, as a woman with secret information she wants to deliver to theSecretary of Defense and Stan Shaw as the defending champion. It has the elements for a good thriller, and De Palma still hassome surprises up his sleeve, but it's a downhill slog. Burum) is perfectlycoordinated, the energy level is high, there's great excitement and I'mscribbling “terrific opening!” in my notes.Īlas, slowly at first and then with stunning rapidity, the moviefalls apart. No matter he steals the crown herefrom the famous long takes by Martin Scorsese in “ GoodFellas” and Paul ThomasAnderson in “ Boogie Nights,” and it's virtuoso work, as the camera follows Cageup and down stairs and he never quits talking.Ĭage is wonderful, all the extras and supporting actors hittheir marks right on time, the camera work (by Stephen H. I'd have to look at the film very carefully to be sure how longthis uninterrupted single shot is it's possible that De Palma has hidden acouple of cuts in the middle of swish-pans.
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