For historical reference, one might ask, why the hell is DMR covering this movie? Simply for the fact that it stars both one Willem DaFoe and one Samuel Lupacious Jackson. That’s it. Turns out to be a maybe slightly above average crime detective thriller kinda deal, the kind you’d find running a lot on late night cable back in the day to fill the dead space between primetime and the morning kid shows. Doesn’t suck. Not great, but it doesn’t suck.
Local New Mexico Sheriff Ray Dolezal (Willem DaFoe) gets called out to a remote location along the canyons. Dead dude. Half mill in cash next to him. Suicide, right? Some tourists spotted it, and there Ray is. So Ray does what he does and bes a good cop. Unfortunately for him, it’s a pretty deep hole he gets dragged deeper into, then deeper. And deeper. Like fuckin Quicksand, but the desert’s actually made up of white gypsum or some shit. So they say.
I guess this is an okay premise if you can get past Ray’s conversation with the local mortician (beautifully done by M. Emmet Walsh), and Ray’s immediate decisions and actions. Samuel L. Jackson with a local alphabet agency, seeing what’s going on with all that cash. Mickey Rourke is a wheelin’ and a dealin Desert Pimp, and Mary Elizabeth PoodleHair gets involved. Dammit, woman! That look was horrible in Scarface, why still do that to yourself? DaFoe does good as the tenacious Sheriff willing to see the case through, regardless the consequences. Looks pretty cool overall, nice locations and feel. Pretty standard fare overall though, might be good to fall asleep to.
