Ben Kingsley |
In one of Dahl’s worlds,
Ben Kingsley plays a Polish hit man in the film You Kill Me. Aside from a
little problem with alcoholism, he lives a quiet, solitary, one might say empty,
life in a rundown but livable house in a blue-collar neighborhood in Buffalo. He considers himself a professional with
standards. But a botched hit renders him unemployed and steals the last bit of
self-respect that alcohol hadn’t already stolen. His former employer — an uncle who aside from
family allegiance still needs his skills — sends the hitman off to California
to dry out. “What? They have nothing to drink in San Francisco?”
Kingsley asks. In San Francisco, the disoriented
hitman finds himself interacting with other slightly off-kilter characters, and
life gathers meaning. This is Kingsley’s
movie, but the supporting cast is stellar, with fine performances by Téa
Lioni, Luke Wilson, and Bill Pullman. And how could you go
wrong with and the late, great Dennis
Farina?
Linda Fiorentino |
If The Last Seduction
were made in the 1940s — and it would have fit right in — Lauren Bacall would have been a perfect seductress. As it was filmed in 1994, Linda Fiorentino has to be the only
choice. She is the neo-noir girl. Sexy,
tough, amoral and merciless. She hooks
up with a shady doctor-to-be (Bill
Pullman), deciding, when the opportunity presents itself, to rip him off for
$700,000 and leaves him to be savaged by loan sharks. But the doc, rather than
tending to a broken heart and broken bones, decides vengeance is good for what
ails him. She decides to hide in a small
town for a while, but Pullman tracks her down.
The seductress finds a more gullible young man (Peter Berg) to play with, to satisfy her sexual appetite and to
eventually help her get rid of her pursuer once and for all. Here Dahl deftly
blends both a plot- and character-driven drama.
This is an especially good film.
To accompany the films and taking the lead from Mr.
Kingsley’s character, sip a little Chopin, one of Poland’s prime vodkas. Your choice, spirits made from wheat, or rye,
or potatoes.
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