The Films of Barbet Schroeder
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The Valley (Obscured by Clouds)
Maîtresse
Koko: A Talking Gorilla
Tricheurs
Barfly
Reversal of Fortune
Single White Female (October 1/18)
Based on a novel by John Lutz, Single White Female follows Bridget Fonda's Allison Jones as she decides to get a roommate in the wake of her breakup with Steven Weber's Sam Rawson - with said roommate (Jennifer Jason Leigh's Hedra Carlson) inevitably progressing from affable and friendly to dark and sinister (and dangerous). It's a fairly irresistible premise that's employed to watchable yet far-from-engrossing effect by Barbet Schroeder, as the filmmaker, working from Don Roos' screenplay, has infused Single White Female with a decidedly lackadaisical feel that is, generally speaking, at odds with the lurid subject matter - with Schroeder's patient approach especially problematic during the movie's rather sluggish first half (ie one can't help but wish Schroeder would just get on with it, already). It's clear, then, that the picture benefits substantially from Fonda and Leigh's strong work in the central roles, as the actresses ensure that their respective characters never become the one-dimensional stereotypes often associated with films of this ilk (and there's little doubt, as well, that the periphery cast boasts equally strong work from folks like Stephen Tobolowsky and Peter Friedman). The movie improves considerably as it progresses into its comparatively electrifying (and surprisingly action-heavy) third act, which does secure Single White Female's place as a thoroughly erratic early-'90s thriller.
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Kiss of Death (August 7/18)
Based on the 1947 film of the same name, Kiss of Death follows David Caruso's Jimmy Kilmartin as he's essentially blackmailed into compiling evidence against a vicious gangster named Little Junior (Nicolas Cage) - with the film detailing Jimmy's efforts at buddying up to Cage's volatile character while also placating a detective (Samuel L. Jackson's Calvin Hart) with a grudge and a sleazy, ambitious district attorney (Stanley Tucci's Frank Zioli). There's little doubt that Kiss of Death fares best in its opening stretch, as filmmaker Barbet Schroeder, working from Richard Price's screenplay, does an effective job of establishing the seedy world in which the various characters reside - with the intriguing atmosphere heightened by Caruso's strong work as the conflicted hero and an impressively solid supporting cast that includes Michael Rapaport, Ving Rhames, and Anthony Heald. (It's clear, ultimately, that Cage's typically idiosyncratic and consistently captivating performance remains an obvious highlight within the proceedings.) Kiss of Death does, however, suffer from an erratically-paced midsection that ultimately diminishes the picture's overall impact, as there's a lack of momentum here that grows more and more problematic as time progress and ensures that the movie runs out of steam before reaching its fairly anticlimactic (and oddly sudden) conclusion. It is, in the end, apparent that the film benefits substantially from its performances and smattering of engrossing sequences (eg Jimmy and Little Junior's somewhat electrifying third-act confrontation), as Kiss of Death is, for the most part, rarely able to become more than the sum of its parts.
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Before and After
Desperate Measures
Our Lady of the Assassins
Murder by Numbers
Terror's Advocate
Inju: The Beast in the Shadow
Amnesia
The Venerable W.
