Product Description

For wine dealer Alex Gates (Jack Nicholson) it hasn't been a vintage year-his business is on the rocks as is his marriage to Suzanne (Judy Davis). His stepson, Jason (Stephen Dorff), hates him, and his mistress, Gabrielle (Jennifer Lopez), is asking for a commitment. In desperation, Alex conspires with his safecracker buddy, Victor (Michael Caine), to steal a million dollar diamond necklace from a wealthy client.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44993 in DVD
• Brand: Twentieth Century Fox
• Released on: 2006-02-07
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 101 minutes

Amazon.com
You can feel the gears grinding, trying to turn this attempt at film noir into something sleek and insinuating, instead of the labored near miss it turns out to be. Jack Nicholson is a Florida wine merchant whose business isn't as good as he has his unhappy wife (Judy Davis) believe. He's also consistently at odds with his churlish stepson (Stephen Dorff). Meanwhile, Nicholson is plotting to steal an expensive diamond necklace and dump his wife, aided by his mistress (Jennifer Lopez) and a sleazy safecracker (Michael Caine). It's the kind of thing James M. Cain used to toss off effortlessly, but in director Bob Rafelson's hands the strain shows at every seam as crime and romantic treachery put all of the characters on a violent collision course. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews

Tense and Exhilarating
This is a beautifully filmed picture with a rich plethora of twists and turns to keep you guessing. It repeatedly questions your own morality through the use of several flawed protagonist who also double as the films antiheroes. Bob Rafelson paints breathtakingly colorful imagery on the screen and changes the mood of the scene through the use of color to great affect. Michael Caine, Jack Nicholson and Stephen Dorff give stellar performaces. But perhaps the most amazing thing about this movie is the dark subtext that lies beneath each spoken line. There are times when you can feel your heart sink from the bitterness of the unspoken words. Outstanding. Five stars.

Wonderful characters in this film noir
I'm not a diehard fan of film noir movies, but this one appeals to me, largely because of the multi-dimensional characters, written with more insight and compassion than usually found in this genre. Even the most villainous character has an understandable reason for all-consuming greed; the rest exude depths of decency and honor when you least expect it. That makes it all worth watching; these are people worth watching and even rooting for. The main cast is uniformly magnificent... what a treat to see Caine and Nicholson play off each other so expertly, and Judy Davis is intelligent and stellar as always. Stephen Dorff continues to impress me with his "diamond-in-the-rough" surliness and Jennifer Lopez does better work here than I've seen before, adding extra likeableness to a plot that, on the surface, threatens to be more hard-boiled than it actually turns out to be. Although there are plenty of violent scenes, there's also just the right amount of vulnerability mixed in with the toughness, enough self-awareness and kindness mixed in with the hatred and selfishness. Great movie, great surprise!

Rivetting performances
Excellent performances by the entire cast make this film well above average. Honestly, I don't know why this film didn't succeed at the box office. It has everything! Great acting by Nicholson, Caine, Dorff & Davis. Treachery, double crossing, action... you name it, it's there. Judy Davis' car accident was done very realistically. Stephen Dorff holds his own against the 2 legends Nicholson & Caine. Where did the film go wrong? I mean, why wasn't it a hit? Can't figure it out.