RED ROCK WEST

A standout entry in the early ’90s neo-noir boom, John Stahl’s taut, twisty, awfully nasty thriller stars an unusually and effectively laconic Nic Cage as a discharged marine who wanders into Red Rock, Wyoming, looking for a job and instead finds himself caught up in the dirty dealings of sleazy bar owner J.T. Walsh, his seductive and conniving wife Lara Flynn Boyle, and “Lyle, from Dallas” (Dennis Hopper), a superficially genial hired killer with plenty of experience in his field.

In RED ROCK WEST, the actors chew the scenery with gusto, breathing life into stock archetypes. Such a choice is emblematic of Dahl’s entire methodology: there’s a faith in the familiar, a belief in the aesthetic and its storytelling, a comfort in watching the wheel spin. It’s the type of film that we so rarely get anymore as viewers, one that rests the value of its entertainment on the laurels of its genre.

"A diabolical movie that exists sneakily between a western and a thriller, between a film noir and a black comedy. It’s the kind of movie made by people who love movies." - Roger Ebert