Red Rock West (1993)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Red Rock West (1993) – J. Dahl

Nicolas Cage is particularly subdued as a drifter with integrity who finds himself mistaken for a hitman (“Lyle from Dallas”) when he pulls into the small Wyoming town of Red Rock. His integrity doesn’t stop him from taking the 5 Gs from Wayne (J. T. Walsh) but instead of killing his wife (Lara Flynn Boyle), he warns her. His integrity also doesn’t stop him from taking another 5 grand from her to kill Wayne, but he leaves town instead. Of course, he doesn’t get far and this dryly humorous neo-noir proceeds to subject him to a number of unexpected twists in the plot from which he can’t seem to extricate himself because he is such a nice guy. Naturally, Lyle from Dallas soon appears in the guise of Dennis Hopper in full-on Blue Velvet mode and he makes short shrift of everything. As directed by John Dahl, there are echoes here of the Coens’ Blood Simple (not David Lynch, despite the cast) and a twangy instrumental score that tilts things toward the Western. It’s solid genre film-making and worth the price of admission.