Red Rock West (1993)
I personally think Nicolas Cage is a very talented actor, it’s just that 80% of the stuff he appears in is absolutely ridiculous. Films like Knowing, Vampire’s Kiss and The Wicker Man are all dumb as shit films that overload on making Cage look like a freaking lunatic. Truth be told, he is, but the other 20% of his career is filled with stuff such as Leaving Las Vegas, Wild at Heart, Bringing out the Dead and Adaptation. Those four, for example are the four where his talents are truly at their peak. He shows happiness, sadness, depression and isolation in the characters that he portrays, but I think that Red Rock West may potentially be the greatest prove of the man’s acting credentials.
Red Rock West, in all truth is a film that I had very minor expectations going into. I partially watched it for the madman that is Nicolas Cage, but I mostly watched it for the powerhouse that is Dennis Hopper; an actor that I deeply love, who I find to be relatively underappreciated for his work throughout his long career. The two of them, along with the glowing Lara Flynn Boyle tap into their characters in glorious style. The performances are rich, well-handled and pivotal to the effectiveness of this particular western neo-noir.
John Dahl, the director of the deeply underrated Joy Ride (or Roadkill, as it’s known throughout other parts of the world) really showcases his talents for tense, gritty thrillers this early on in his career. Red Rock West is surprisingly only his second feature (Kill Me Again is first), but you wouldn’t know that considering how mature and synchronised Red Rock West is. My love for westerns is as strong is my love for neo-noir thrillers, so the relatively untapped idea of binding the two genres together is something I was always going to be interested by, but I can’t for one moment say that I expected anything more from Red Rock West than a fun actioner. Red Rock West, in all honesty, is quite simply a stunning film. The writing has pure strength and power, the gritty cinematography is admirable and even the soundtrack adds a certain weight to the tone of the film. An atmospheric western gem of the 90’s, and something that really should be seen and loved by many more people than it is.
88/100
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