loading...
Silver City
2004
During a gubernatorial race in small-town Colorado, a mystery is uncovered involving a dead body found in a local lake. A private detective, Danny (Danny Huston), is hired by the governor-to-be's campaign manager (Richard Dreyfuss), who is worried that the unexpected event may be used as a scandal-maker by the opposition. But .. Read more
| Starring | Chris Cooper, Richard Dreyfuss, Tim Roth, Thora Birch |
|---|---|
| Director | John Sayles |
| Genres | Drama |
loading...
Silver City
During a gubernatorial race in small-town Colorado, a mystery is uncovered involving a dead body found in a local lake. A private detective, Danny (Danny Huston), is hired by the governor-to-be's campaign manager (Richard Dreyfuss), who is worried that the unexpected event may be used as a scandal-maker by the opposition. But when Danny begins to investigate, he learns that business mogul Wes Benteen (Kris Kristofferson), is using the candidate, Dickie Pilager (Chris Cooper), to promote his moneymaking agenda. Director-writer-editor John Sayles weaves together multiple storylines involving environmental issues, political and corporate corruption, activism, illegal aliens, labour laws, and also a sweet love affair, simplifying it all into a cohesive and deeply enjoyable drama. He gets powerful performances from each cast member, making the characters shine in all of their nuanced intricacies. This strong film reflects on the presidency of George W. Bush in that candidate Pilager is a good-hearted Republican who lacks communications skills and a backbone, allowing regulation to lapse, power to be abused, and a scourge of long-term problems to be ignored. Meanwhile, SILVER CITY is a gripping whodunit, set in the still-dusty New West where old silver mines become real estate developments, and corporate tycoons attempt to privatise protected land for their own bounty. The immediate, effective supporting cast includes Daryl Hannah, Thora Birch, Tim Roth, Maria Bello, Sal Lopez, Miguel Ferrer, and Billy Zane.
| Starring | Chris Cooper, Richard Dreyfuss, Tim Roth, Thora Birch, Maria Bello, Daryl Hannah, Danny Huston, Kris Kristofferson, Billy Zane |
|---|---|
| Director | John Sayles |
| Studio | PALISADES TARTAN |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 3 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Dubbed | None |
| Hearing-impaired | None |
| Subtitles | DVD: None |
| Released | DVD: 07 Nov 2005 Production year: 2004 |
| Format | DVD |
-
Critics' reviews (6)
View all -
Expanding on the autobiographical themes explored by Sophia Turkiewicz in her student short, Letters from Poland (1978), this is a disappointingly flat and unconvincing melodrama, considering that the screenplay boasted contributions from Schindler's Ark author, Thomas Keneally. Recalled in flashback, the romantic triangle involving aspiring teacher Gosia Dobrowolska, lawyer Ivar Kants and his put-upon wife, Anna Jemison, develops along all-too-predictable lines, wasting both the unusual backdrop (an immigrant camp nicknamed Silver City on account of its dehumanising corrugated huts) and the inevitable culture clashes between the refugee Poles (stridently dismissive) and the local Australians (stereotypically hostile). Earnestly acted, but otherwise mediocre.
-
An excellent cast for a tale of political and corporate corruption.
-
Most helpful member's review
View all -
14 out of 20 people found this review helpful
Disappointing
The trailer promises so much with Chris Cooper doing his best George W. impression - but once you've seen the trailer, you've seen all the film's highlights!
Chris Cooper plays a dim-witted politician from a family of political heavyweights running for Governor of Colorado. While filming a campaign video, he hooks a dead body out of the lake. What follows is a kind of whodunnit as the political advisors attempt to find out who has got it in for their candidate.
While Cooper's politician may be a thinly-veiled stab at George W. Bush, his performance stands out as the comedic highpoint of this film with strong support from Danny Huston as the gumshoe, Darryl Hannah as Cooper's sister and Richard Dreyfuss as the campaign manager. However, I lost track of the plot involving the dead body as layer upon layer of intrigue was added, there's the obligatory tacked on romantic sub-plot which added nothing and despite the impressive ensemble cast, the film feels like a collection of individuals doing their own thing - there's little to hold the film together. Such a shame as this could have been a smart political satire but unfortunately, there's very little substance behind the caricature. -
Most recent members' review
View all -
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Clunky Politico-Drama
While overall this film did have some good points in the shape of a great cast and solid performances throughout, it struggled to get past the point it was trying to make and turn it into enjoyable or even worthwhile viewing. So, politicians are corrupt. Check. And so are big corporations. Check. But you know, if you're going to try and make that point without attaching it to a decent plot, then why not just make a documentary like The Corporation.
That's probably a bit harsh, but honestly this film felt like it would have been better off as a TV series - they tried to cover too many story angles in too little time (even at two hours) which left us still not connecting half the dots and, worse, not even really caring. -
Image gallery
View allShowing 1 to 1 of 1
-
-
More like this
View allShowing 1 to 4 of 20
Related user collection
World Cinema Gems (31)
73.4% from 6 members
Buy from the LOVEFiLM shop
-
-
- Silver City
- DVD: £17.93
Free Delivery - RRP £19.99 (you save: 10%)
During a gubernatorial race in small-town Colorado, a mystery is uncovered involving a dead body found in a local lake. A private detective, Danny (Danny Huston), is hired by the governor-to-be's ... -