African-American director Carl Franklin's ONE FALSE MOVE presents itself as a crime thriller, but upon deeper inspection reveals itself to be a thought-provoking drama concerning racism and racial identity. After stealing a large stash of cocaine and brutally murdering several people in the process, two Los Angeles outlaws--the .. Read more
| Starring | Bill Paxton, Cynda Williams, Michael Beach, Earl Billings |
|---|---|
| Director | Carl Franklin |
| Genres | Drama |
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African-American director Carl Franklin's ONE FALSE MOVE presents itself as a crime thriller, but upon deeper inspection reveals itself to be a thought-provoking drama concerning racism and racial identity. After stealing a large stash of cocaine and brutally murdering several people in the process, two Los Angeles outlaws--the intelligent Pludo (Michael Beach), an African-American, and the psychopathic redneck Ray (Billy Bob Thornton)--hit the road with Ray's biracial girlfriend Fantasia (Cynda Williams). Thinking that the killers might be headed to Ray and Fantasia's hometown of Star City, Arkansas, two L.A.P.D. detectives travel there to await their arrival. They're greeted by "Hurricane" Dixon (Bill Paxton), the town's energetic police chief, who looks up to them as if they're superheroes. When Pludo and Ray stop in Texas to sell their drugs, Fantasia continues on alone to Star City where she intends to reunite with her 5-year-old son. Once there, Hurricane tracks her down and she challenges him to confront the secret of their shared past, jeopardizing his marriage and career in the process. By the time Ray and Pludo arrive, a showdown forces Hurricane to draw his gun for the first time in his life. Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson's intelligent script makes ONE FALSE MOVE a superior and complex drama that works on many levels.
| Starring | Bill Paxton, Cynda Williams, Michael Beach, Earl Billings, Jim Metzler, Billy Bob Thornton |
|---|---|
| Director | Carl Franklin |
| Studio | SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 41 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Dubbed | French, German, Italian, Spanish |
| Subtitles | DVD: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish |
| Released | DVD: 22 Jan 2001 Production year: 1991 |
| Format | DVD |
A mesmerising slice of modern film noir, in which director Carl Franklin skilfully steers past the usual clichés to deliver a thoughtful, ultimately tragic tale. A trio of criminals sets off on a murderous cross-country journey, fleeing Los Angeles with the takings from a brutal drugs heist. LA cops Jim Metzler and Earl Billings are convinced the criminals will head for the tiny southern town where one of their number (Cynda Williams) used to live, and lie in wait with the naive local cop (the ever excellent Bill Paxton). It's a gripping affair, punctuated with isolated splashes of shocking violence, and is superbly acted by the largely unknown cast. One of the finest thrillers to come out of the American independent scene in recent years, this helped earn Franklin the directorial duties on the Denzel Washington thriller Devil in a Blue Dress.
A tough, complex, suspenseful thriller-cum-road movie that also finds room to concern itself with relationships and racism.
This is an excellent film, beautifully paced, from the brutal opening to the climactic confrontation it has well paced narrative and excellent characters. All the actors are note perfect, in particular Bill Paxtons small town Sherrif. The film is essentially a modern reworking of High Noon but with deeper moral ambiguities and detailed characterisations. The direction is assured and the script well written. A modern American Classic.
Quite well acted however it was no more than an average thriller.