Shade Details

Shade

Set in the underground world of Los Angeles card sharks and gamblers, this slick neo-noir is a gripping ensemble drama that pays homage to hard-boiled heist directors like Mamet and Scorsese. SHADE, a gambling term for deception and trickery, revolves around a ring of small-time hustlers with dreams of the big payoff. Tiffany (Thandie Newton) is a beautiful and calculating swindler who works together with her partner Charlie (Gabriel Byrne) in nickel-and-dime schemes. But when one card shark, The Dean (Sylvester Stallone), seems to be unbeatable, they devise a scheme to topple his flawless run. They recruit Tiffany's old flame, Vernon (Stuart Townsend) a card mechanic and sleight-of-hand genius and hustler Jennings (Jamie Foxx) to manoeuvre their way on to The Dean's poker table. But all is not what it seems in this twisting and turning thriller: deception abounds. Secret love affairs and allegiances are kindled, and The Dean, whom everyone is trying to hustle, plays a dirty game with the help of his ex-girlfriend, Eve (Melanie Griffith). In a game of who's cheating whom, each player becomes a pawn in another's swindle. Debut writer-director Damian Nieman films the card tricks with flair, making the poker-faced manipulations visible to the viewer and adding to the high stakes tension of the film.

Starring	Sylvester Stallone, Melanie Griffith, Gabriel Byrne, Hal Holbrook
Director	Damian Nieman
Studio	DEJ PRODUCTIONS
Run time	DVD: 1 hr 29 mins
Certificate
Genres	Action/Adventure, Drama
Language	DVD: English
Released	DVD: 23 Jul 2004 Production year: 2003
Format	DVD