Themes: Dishonor Among Thieves, Criminal's Revenge, Out For Revenge
Main Cast: Harvey Keitel, Stephen Dorff, Famke Janssen, Timothy Hutton, Wade Dominguez
Release Year: 1997
Country: US
Run Time: 97 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Betrayal and revenge are the key ingredients of this violent, streetwise crime drama. Roy Egan (Harvey Keitel) was once a highly successful thief but has gotten out of the business and now leads a quiet life in the Midwest. He's lured out of retirement by his brother, Lee (Timothy Hutton); Lee figures that he's come to the end of his rope as a small-time thief and wants to pull one last job that will earn him a healthy score. Lee and Roy devise a plan to knock over a jewelry store in Palm Springs and bring along two helpers, even-tempered family man Jorge (Wade Dominguez) and hot-headed driver Skip (Stephen Dorff). The heist goes like clockwork, but afterward Skip turns on his partners and kills Lee and Jorge. Roy is able to escape and swears to avenge his brother's death with the help of Jorge's wife Rachel (Famke Janssen). City of Industry was the debut feature for writer/producer Ken Solarz. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
City of Industry is the name of a Los Angeles enclave, one which couldn't be further from the glamour of Tinseltown. It's the perfect title for this tale of common criminals, average Joes whose warped work ethic includes the occasional prison stretch. City of Industry shows sunny California in a bleak new light. With a multicultural stew of thugs all driving around in vintage Motor City metal, and the emphasis placed on industrial landscapes (including the refinery where James Cagney took his fiery last stand in White Heat), they could be in Detroit. Violence here is always simmering, and when it flares up, it's as brutal, relentless, and remorseless as the central characters. Stephen Dorff practically crackles with anarchic ferocity, and Harvey Keitel again proves he's the onscreen king of inarticulate rage. But at the heart of this taut testosterone fest is Famke Janssen's Rachel, whose tough resilience and wary tenderness show how much it actually costs to pursue a life of crime. ~ Serena Donadoni, All Movie Guide
Michael Jai White - Odell; Dana Barron - Gena; Brian Brophy - Backus; François Chau - Uncle Luke; Elliott Gould - Gangster; Steven Ho - Gang Member; Leo Lee - Redman; Willie Leong - Jesse; Jonathan Schmock - Jewelry Manager; Philip Tan - Jimmie; Eddie Yansick - Bodyguard; Fred Lerner - Security Guard; Tamara Clatterbuck - Sunny; Brian Imada - Sweet Plum; Raymond Ma - Paradise Hotel Clerk; Stuart Quan - Onion Head; Evzen Kolar - Droutzkoy; Vien Hong - Gingerhead; Reno Wilson - Keshaun Brown; Elisa Ruiz - Henry Montana; John Koyama - Two Gun; Lucy Liu - Cathi Rose; Flex - A Roc; Tim Rigby - Bodyguard; Cyrus Farmer - Steady; Antonio Molina - Mailman; Eddie Mathews - Bodyguard; Jane Crawley - Waitress; Anthony James DeJesus - Jorge Jr.; Arthur Louis Fuller - Bouncer; Brian Habicht - Phone Company Employee; Andrew Markell - Kangol; Georg D. Rice - Royal Sentry Security Guard; Brian Shen - Pai-Gow Dealer; Sarah Sulivan - Nurse; Michael Trac - Shrimp Boy; Ai Wan - Gwen
Credit
Henderson Zuckerman - Casting, Frank Isaac - Co-producer, Matthew Gayne - Co-producer, Eduardo Castro - Costume Designer, John Irvin - Director, Ernie F. Orsatti - Second Unit Director, Mark Conte - Editor, Barr Potter - Executive Producer, Stephen Endelman - Songwriter, Janeen Schreyer - Makeup, Michael Novotny - Production Designer, Thomas Burstyn - Cinematographer, Evzen Kolar - Producer, Ken Solarz - Producer, Joe Lombardi - Special Effects, Ernie F. Orsatti - Stunts Coordinator, Ken Solarz - Screenwriter
The film received mixed reviews, with the review tallying website rottentomatoes.com reporting 6 out of the 13 reviews they tallied were positive, for a score of 46% and certification of "rotten".[1]
