- Film Review
- Reviewed By Alan Jones
-
4 out of 5
Dennis Quaid's gripping performance is just one reason why this smart and snappy retread of the memorable 1949 film noir is ripe for reappraisal. Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel (creators of 1980s TV series Max Headroom) begin their psycho thriller with the now famous exchange: "I wanna report a murder." "Whose?" "Mine!", and dress up the action with a smashing visual flash. It may be MTV imagery, but it works. Particularly impressive is the gimmick allying Quaid's deteriorating health to the colour draining out of the film, ending up in monochrome. A terrific touch in a thoroughly enjoyable remake.
Plot Summary
Crime thriller starring Dennis Quaid as troubled English professor Dexter Cornell, who shocks the police by arriving to report his own murder. Someone has given him a slow-acting poison, and Cornell has just 48 hours to find out who it was. With the help of Sydney Fuller (Meg Ryan), one of his students, he begins a race against time.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Dexter Cornell
- Dennis Quaid
- Sydney Fuller
- Meg Ryan
- Mrs Fitzwaring
- Charlotte Rampling
- Hal Petersham
- Daniel Stern
- Gail Cornell
- Jane Kaczmarek
- Bernard
- Christopher Neame
- Cookie Fitzwaring
- Robin Johnson
- Nicholas Lang
- Robert Knepper
- Detective Ulmer
- Brion James
- Detective Brockton
- Jack Kehoe
- Elaine Wells
- Elizabeth Arlen
- Jane Corey
- Karen Radcliffe
Crew
- Director
- Rocky Morton
- Director
- Annabel Jankel
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