This is the kind of movie that starts out with strikingly real characterizations--Nadine is herself quite a piece of work, Texas country simple but shrewd with a strong will--and an interesting premise, but doesn't maintain the excellence.
Kim Basinger is gorgeous in the title role and natural. Jeff Brides plays her estranged husband Vernon Hightower who owns a bar in Austin, Texas circa 1954 that is not doing much in the way of business. He is one of those guys who dream of making it big financially in business as a proof of his manhood, a guy who has always just gotten by on his good looks, a guy who often lies and cuts corners and can't be trusted, but a guy with a smile to charm a rattlesnake. These two really love each other but are currently in the process of getting divorced and Vernon has a girl friend (Renee, played with eager finesse by Glenne Headly) that he wants to marry, he thinks.
The plot begins with Nadine going to a photographer's studio and demanding to get back some "art studio" shots of her that were taken under the guise of being shown to Hugh Hefner at Playboy. The photographer is murdered and Nadine mistakenly ends up with some photos of the plans for the new Interstate that will be built nearby, plans that Buford Pope (Rip Torn) and his thugs want for themselves because, if you know where the highway will be built you can buy up the property near it on the cheap and then sell it later for a big profit. Vernon knows this too and when he finds the photos in Nadine's purse, he takes off with them.
The questions that the plot will answer are (1) Will Vernon and Nadine escape from Buford Pope and his strongmen with the photos and their lives? and (2) Will Vernon and Nadine realize they really love each other and find true love and happiness together? There is a shoot-out in a junkyard near the end that's...different, and there's a neat car chase and...well, the movie that started out so well deteriorates into something ordinary, but not all that bad.
Robert Benton, who wrote the script for Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and both wrote and directed Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) directed. He has a fine feel for character and can write authentic and witty dialogue. He is not at his best here; nonetheless this is definitely worth seeing mainly because Bridges and Basinger do such a great job of filling up the screen. Basinger in particular is wonderful. See it for her.
(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)
Kim Basinger is gorgeous in the title role and natural. Jeff Brides plays her estranged husband Vernon Hightower who owns a bar in Austin, Texas circa 1954 that is not doing much in the way of business. He is one of those guys who dream of making it big financially in business as a proof of his manhood, a guy who has always just gotten by on his good looks, a guy who often lies and cuts corners and can't be trusted, but a guy with a smile to charm a rattlesnake. These two really love each other but are currently in the process of getting divorced and Vernon has a girl friend (Renee, played with eager finesse by Glenne Headly) that he wants to marry, he thinks.
The plot begins with Nadine going to a photographer's studio and demanding to get back some "art studio" shots of her that were taken under the guise of being shown to Hugh Hefner at Playboy. The photographer is murdered and Nadine mistakenly ends up with some photos of the plans for the new Interstate that will be built nearby, plans that Buford Pope (Rip Torn) and his thugs want for themselves because, if you know where the highway will be built you can buy up the property near it on the cheap and then sell it later for a big profit. Vernon knows this too and when he finds the photos in Nadine's purse, he takes off with them.
The questions that the plot will answer are (1) Will Vernon and Nadine escape from Buford Pope and his strongmen with the photos and their lives? and (2) Will Vernon and Nadine realize they really love each other and find true love and happiness together? There is a shoot-out in a junkyard near the end that's...different, and there's a neat car chase and...well, the movie that started out so well deteriorates into something ordinary, but not all that bad.
Robert Benton, who wrote the script for Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and both wrote and directed Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) directed. He has a fine feel for character and can write authentic and witty dialogue. He is not at his best here; nonetheless this is definitely worth seeing mainly because Bridges and Basinger do such a great job of filling up the screen. Basinger in particular is wonderful. See it for her.
(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)