I love finding lesser-known films that I haven't necessarily heard of before. The beauty of owning a DSS with a full premium movie package is that these kinds of films pop up regularly, although for every one worth watching you'll wade through five that stink. I ran across "The Settlement" last night and was actually quite impressed.
The gist of it: John Reilly and William Fichter play two guys who run a shady business wherein they buy out life insurance policies from dying customers. The clients get some cash before they die, and when they eventually kick off Reilly and Fichter collect the full benefit payout on the policy. Their business has hit the skids, however, and on the brink of bankruptcy in walks Barbara (Kelly McGillis). She's a terminal cancer patient with three months to live. For a $500,000 buyout she'll sign over her $2 million dollar policy.
As this is a much bigger deal than they are accustomed to and since they are nearly broke, Reilly and Fichter have to resort to some questionable means to obtain the $500,000. Reilly's character wants out of the business altogether but has a family to worry about. Fichter is the single, shoot-from-the-hip sort who acts now and worries about the consequences later. He has to convince Reilly that this is the deal they've been waiting for and that it will solve their financial problems once and for all. Conversations between the aggravated Reilly and the ever-scheming Fichter are well-written and very funny.
Barbara turns out to be something other than she first appears to be, and the movie takes off from there. It's well filmed and acted, and does a nice job of building suspense and the appropriate moments. The storyline is unique and made me wonder how Reilly and Fichter, who seem like decent enough guys, could have gotten involved in such a sleazy line of work.
I gave it 7 out of 10. My only real complaint is that the ending seemed hurried and a little too serious to fit the overall tone of the film. All in all, a good flick and worth your time if you get a chance.
The gist of it: John Reilly and William Fichter play two guys who run a shady business wherein they buy out life insurance policies from dying customers. The clients get some cash before they die, and when they eventually kick off Reilly and Fichter collect the full benefit payout on the policy. Their business has hit the skids, however, and on the brink of bankruptcy in walks Barbara (Kelly McGillis). She's a terminal cancer patient with three months to live. For a $500,000 buyout she'll sign over her $2 million dollar policy.
As this is a much bigger deal than they are accustomed to and since they are nearly broke, Reilly and Fichter have to resort to some questionable means to obtain the $500,000. Reilly's character wants out of the business altogether but has a family to worry about. Fichter is the single, shoot-from-the-hip sort who acts now and worries about the consequences later. He has to convince Reilly that this is the deal they've been waiting for and that it will solve their financial problems once and for all. Conversations between the aggravated Reilly and the ever-scheming Fichter are well-written and very funny.
Barbara turns out to be something other than she first appears to be, and the movie takes off from there. It's well filmed and acted, and does a nice job of building suspense and the appropriate moments. The storyline is unique and made me wonder how Reilly and Fichter, who seem like decent enough guys, could have gotten involved in such a sleazy line of work.
I gave it 7 out of 10. My only real complaint is that the ending seemed hurried and a little too serious to fit the overall tone of the film. All in all, a good flick and worth your time if you get a chance.