It's a curious film about a murderer whose victims are all women than detective Ray Liotta has slept with -- in his entire life, beginning with number one. And how does the killer know who these women are, since some of these are one-night stands from twenty or more years ago? Okay. Hold on to your hate please. The killer identifies them by forcing one women to reveal another that Liotta has slept with. But how can a woman tell that a man has slept with someone besides herself? "A woman can tell, Jack," says Gisela Fraga, Jack's wife for the past eight years.
And Jack's list of women, of casual affairs, is a long one -- more than a hundred, he says. I suppose that might sound impressive until you hear about my conquests. I counted them up once. I have made love to one thousand, two hundred, and forty six partners. And a half. And that's not counting myself and inanimate objects.
I'm sorry. I can't take this film too seriously. There are more variations on the serial killer theme than there are on Liotta's list of sex partners. And if they started off in a state of simplicity -- one raving maniac slaughtering at random -- they were forced in the course of their pattern of florescence to become more complicated. The killers began leaving increasingly anfractuous clues for the police. The location of the separate murders formed a pentagon on a map. Or he was killing individuals who exemplified the seven deadly sins. Or the murders were somehow linked to the configuration of stars in the Pleides.
In this case, I won't even bother trying to explain it because I don't understand it. I don't understand why Liotta's mother was murdered. I don't understand the significance of the river, which figures prominently in the story. I don't get why the killer goes for Jack's wife. I don't know why the dead body of Jack's wife in the trunk of the car doesn't resemble Jack's wife. I don't understand the last sixty seconds or so, in which we see Jack and his wife at home, playing with their newborn baby.
But I can't trash the movie because some of it is not bad at all. Nobody ever thinks of Spokane as an ideal filming location. If you're going to shoot in the rain, why not go all the way and place it in Vancouver, BC? It's cheaper. Yet it makes decent use of the city's landmarks, like the Upper Spokane River Falls.
And the performances aren't bad, considering that the dialog sometimes sounds carelessly written. The word "need" is salient, usually appearing in the form, "I need you to --." "I'm sorry" pops up at such regular intervals that it forms a kind of ostinato.
Only one performance is poor. Portraying Liotta as a young man is Alex Donnolo, who might have been dragged from a high school play in Keokuk, Iowa. I hope he didn't quit his day job. But as Liotta's nemesis, the serial killer himself, Michael Rodrick is just fine, erstwhile priest turned revenge fanatic. He's pleasant, handsome, harmless. Also he's from Jersey City.
In terms of dramatic style Ray Liotta has not changed one iota from what he was in "Goodfellas." He always sounds a little whiny, as if pleading for understanding. It adds a nice touch to his maniac policeman in "Unlawful Entry." And Gisela Braga is outstanding as Liotta's wife. She's only just short of the threshold for Hollywood beautiful. She has endearing big ears. But her delivery is truly winning. And everyone else in the cast, with the exception of Jack Junior, is at least professionally competent. It's always a pleasure to see people at work doing things they do well.
And Jack's list of women, of casual affairs, is a long one -- more than a hundred, he says. I suppose that might sound impressive until you hear about my conquests. I counted them up once. I have made love to one thousand, two hundred, and forty six partners. And a half. And that's not counting myself and inanimate objects.
I'm sorry. I can't take this film too seriously. There are more variations on the serial killer theme than there are on Liotta's list of sex partners. And if they started off in a state of simplicity -- one raving maniac slaughtering at random -- they were forced in the course of their pattern of florescence to become more complicated. The killers began leaving increasingly anfractuous clues for the police. The location of the separate murders formed a pentagon on a map. Or he was killing individuals who exemplified the seven deadly sins. Or the murders were somehow linked to the configuration of stars in the Pleides.
In this case, I won't even bother trying to explain it because I don't understand it. I don't understand why Liotta's mother was murdered. I don't understand the significance of the river, which figures prominently in the story. I don't get why the killer goes for Jack's wife. I don't know why the dead body of Jack's wife in the trunk of the car doesn't resemble Jack's wife. I don't understand the last sixty seconds or so, in which we see Jack and his wife at home, playing with their newborn baby.
But I can't trash the movie because some of it is not bad at all. Nobody ever thinks of Spokane as an ideal filming location. If you're going to shoot in the rain, why not go all the way and place it in Vancouver, BC? It's cheaper. Yet it makes decent use of the city's landmarks, like the Upper Spokane River Falls.
And the performances aren't bad, considering that the dialog sometimes sounds carelessly written. The word "need" is salient, usually appearing in the form, "I need you to --." "I'm sorry" pops up at such regular intervals that it forms a kind of ostinato.
Only one performance is poor. Portraying Liotta as a young man is Alex Donnolo, who might have been dragged from a high school play in Keokuk, Iowa. I hope he didn't quit his day job. But as Liotta's nemesis, the serial killer himself, Michael Rodrick is just fine, erstwhile priest turned revenge fanatic. He's pleasant, handsome, harmless. Also he's from Jersey City.
In terms of dramatic style Ray Liotta has not changed one iota from what he was in "Goodfellas." He always sounds a little whiny, as if pleading for understanding. It adds a nice touch to his maniac policeman in "Unlawful Entry." And Gisela Braga is outstanding as Liotta's wife. She's only just short of the threshold for Hollywood beautiful. She has endearing big ears. But her delivery is truly winning. And everyone else in the cast, with the exception of Jack Junior, is at least professionally competent. It's always a pleasure to see people at work doing things they do well.