INDEX FILM

C

HOMI IDE

GOURMET AMERICAN PIZZA HOUSE 28-30 The Grassmarket Edinburgh Tel :225 6464

presents

leading man certainly convinces as he struggles with his conscience when a

Homicide (15) (David Mamet, US, 1991) Joe Mantegna, William H. Macy,

Natalia Nogulich. 100 mins. murder incident puts him on the track of

PIaywright-turned-tilmmaker David a Shady ahtt'semttie tethFISt

Mamet's third teature opens with a grouping. Does he adhere to his duty as

burst of Aeric Jans’ brooding score over a Detieehtiah and tiring "1th: 8 he

the credits, 3 cello-hea chamber eehsplfa 0'8 0f, as a 8W. 08 .

music which indicates right away that :isttfhn to in: am vitamimfggzts to AUTHENTIC AMERICAN CHARGRILLED RESTAURANT this is to be no conventional olice e em a e e a" . . . . procedural. Regular collaboratorJoe hahtts'? . _ . . 7 V'Ctor'a Street Ed'nbu r9“ Mantegna plays New York cop Bobby Th'syttelttst'tt" at a iteW'Sh tettatlst Tel 2225 7306 Gold, his every day on duty a (med organisation has elicited not a little ire

march through an urban hell of physical "01" the Peweftut cleW[Sh community In

violence, moral decay and endemic New York. Yet the tltm ls more about

racial tension, until a casually tatth in a test sometv than any

onensive remark arm; a bung|ed police particular set of beliels and believers.

operation causes himto begintorellect t-tkethe so“ arttsts'mahanVfihQSih THE AMERICAN DREAM COMES TRUE!

on his own Jewish background, his debut teature, House at Games, While its predecessor, Things Mamet is touching on the need tor a

Change, meshed the comic gullibility ritual to make sense of experience, a

otold shoemaker Don Ameche against :33:switgggzzflgomzagonaI THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL FILM OF THE YEAR. the matiosi machinations ot the mob

membefs who wanted to exp|oit [0' “10'3"” to ease IIIle search. Here, the . , ,_ w

their own ends, Mamet here makes the eehtfat play 0|! the law and The Law '

undertow ot corruption in American pats the Issue "1 lts eteafeSt teells Yet,

society that bit stronger and darker, but even it the mice is a settth hattattVe

again (oiiows the progress oi an r schematicism and the odd rather

essentially good man (Gold is a I uncomtortable sequence at street-level

committed and brave detective) in a ' QUthaY- Mahteghac as eVef. ls

outstanding. (Trevor Johnston)

From 27 Oct: Edinburgh: Filmhouse. From 7 Nov: Glasgow: GFT.

lallen world. Although it’s not always easy to believe that the ltalianate Mantegna is a Jew, Mamet’s lavourite

L'S Canada. 1991) DaphnaKastner. ? Maxine Cooper. 105 mins. Asavage

David Charles. David Duchovny. 88 mins. critique of (‘old War paranoia that has

Aftera strange and erotictelephone become oneofthe key filmsofSO‘s . .,. , «. g. ' " conversation with a man whohasdialled consciousness. Althoughthe Spillane f .. l c f)". I: V .1. .1 6., - a W

the wrongriuniber.Julia(Kastner)finds brutalityiswellin evidence.Meckeras jfz‘? -' ' ' ' . J thatshe must reassess herlifeandthe f Hammer gives his roughness akindof t 3.3. W ‘Z" . L - A F i L M B y T o D D H A y N E S recent marriage proposal from her l honesty as he doggedly persists without " ' 5 7 - M‘ "" "' -"' " W "* "‘ " " ' ' "‘ "~ "* '“ “W “e M l““”’*" V domineering live-in lover. A steamy affair i regard to the consequences. Brilliantly l RANLgQfilgfllggfllflflfifl_‘lfll_§yflQAQQEJELLQLEE§TIVAL ensues when she arranges to meet the ._ characterised. and directed with baroque I ,,

mystery man. Filmedon a budgetofnext ferocity.it remainsa superb example of I HIP SEXY AND THOROUGHLY ENTERTAINING

to nothingthis searching examinationof I American noi'r. GlasgoszFT. l ' INTENSELY SENSUOUS, INTELLIGENT,

modern-day intimacies scored a hit at the , I Kwaidan ( 18) (Masaki Kobayashi.

1991 Edinburgh Film Festival. Edinburgh: Japan. 1964) Rentaro Mikuni.Ganjiro

Filmhouse. Nakamura. Michiyo Aratama. 164 mins. i

PROVOCATIVE AND ORIGINAL... SALO WAS NOTHING IN COMPARISION"

VILIACf V()l( l.

"WICKEDLY PERVERSE. EXTRAORDINARY"

PR! NAII'RI

I A Kiss Before Dying ( 18) (James The title translates as Ghost Story and this Dearden. US. 199(1) Matt Dillon. Sean , eerily beautiful though ratheroverlong Young. Max Von Sydow. Diane Ladd. 92 film presents four tales ofthe supernatural mins. Writer/director Dearden also wrote ; by English writer Lafcadio llearn. "FU N NY AN D DISTU R 3' NC"

the screenplay for l-‘uralArrraciimr.which I Manhunter(18) (Michael Mann. US. ' N' W "0“" "(’5'

many people found misogynistic. llere. 1987)William L. Petersen.Tom Noonan. i "AN AMYL CHARGED RIDE THROUGH he s back on dangerous relationships | Brian Cox. Kim Griest. 119 mins. FBI 1 IMAGES OF DECAY

territory. though the maladjusted partner a yent Petersen returns from s chiatric l '

inthis case is male.andapsychopathic tilaeatment to face another easel/usinghis DISEASE AND SOCIAL DEVIANCE killer at that. Gaps in plot andobvious customary technique for tracking down “my RM’N‘

photographed backdrops actually work in serial killers by recreating their train of

favour of this enjoyable. old-fashioned thought. 1n the past this has proved all too v v v s v . thriller from the Hitchcock school. wearing on his own mental state. and W 7 7 Edinburgh: Filmhouse. . when faced with evidence ofa killerwho ; 25th - SAT 2nd N()V

I Kiss Me Deadly ( 18) (Robert Aldrich. slays whole families every lunar cycle. he

US. 1955) Ralph Meeker. Al Dekker. finds himselfback on the brink.

The List 25 October 7 November 1991 17