Hard to see why this accomplished adaptation of Walter Mosley’s first Easy Rawlins detective novel flopped.* (A streaming series of the 15 titles in development.) True, it’s CHINATOWN derivative (how not, given the L.A. post-WWII period setting?); Tom Sizemore’s Joe Pesci villainous copycat act brings little new (same for Maury Chaykin’s John Huston shtick); writer/director Carl Franklin* & cinematographer Tak Fujimoto lay on over-ripe period texture to beat the band (props look like ‘props,’ the atmosphere lacquered, exteriors like showroom models. But Franklin, and his generally good cast, get too much right to miss out on, capturing the urban experience of an ambitious, home-owning Black vet trying to stay out of harms way and keep the cash flowing with pick-up work that lands him on the edge of the law, the casual indignities of simply being Black in America ‘tell’ in ways rarely caught on film. Perhaps that’s because its subtext is seen thru the lens of strict film noir detective tropes. Incriminating photographs, interracial love affair, blackmail, kidnapping, hideouts, friendship loyal & disloyal; all in a twisty political story about a mayoral race you can largely follow. Denzel Washington makes one sexy Rawlins; they could have auctioned that ribbed-‘T’ to make up any box-office shortfall. (see poster) And if Jennifer Beals’ mystery gal is no Faye Dunaway (Mosley probably made a mistake giving her too close a variation of Dunaway’s ‘My sister, My daughter’ routine), Don Cheadle’s dangerous psychopathic BFF more than makes up for it. (Why not a streaming series on this guy?)
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: *Lots of violent detective work for director Franklin before & after, on tv & film. ONE FALSE MOVE/’92 a particularly tasty example. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2020/03/one-false-move-1992.html
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