Movie Type: Post-Noir (Modern Noir), Crime Thriller
Themes: Hostage Situations, Bank Robbery, Dishonor Among Thieves
Main Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Milla Jovovich, Stellan Skarsgård, Doug Hutchison, Joss Ackland, Grace Zabriskie
Release Year: 2002
Country: DE/CA/US
Run Time: 103 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Based on a story of the same name by Dashiell Hammett, the crime thriller The House on Turk Street was directed by veteran filmmaker Bob Rafelson. Cello-playing cop Jack Friar (Samuel L. Jackson) searches for a teenage runaway on Turk Street and ends up in the home of an elderly couple (Joss Ackland and Grace Zabriskie). The house also turns out to be the headquarters for a gang of criminals who are planning a bank robbery, and Jack is quickly held hostage. When Jack is left alone with gang member Erin (Milla Jovovich), he teaches her to play the cello and the two share a mutal attraction. Meanwhile, Erin continues to manipulate gang leader Tyrone (Stellan Skarsgard), violent thug Hoop (Doug Hutchison), and inside man David (Johnathan Higgins). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Jonathan Higgins - David Brewster; Shannon Lawson - Amy; Emily VanCamp - Connie; Joris Jarsky - Rudy Jones; Robert Welch - Willy
Credit
Jean-Andre Carriere - Art Director, Matthew Keene Smith - Associate Producer, Victoria Burrows - Casting, Scott Boland - Casting, Mary Claire Hannan - Costume Designer, Don Terry - First Assistant Director, Bob Rafelson - Director, William Scharf - Editor, Jan Fantl - Executive Producer, Frank Hübner - Executive Producer, Julien Remillard - Executive Producer, David E. Allen - Executive Producer, Michel Siry - Line Producer, Jeff Beal - Composer (Music Score), Paul Peters - Production Designer, Juan Ruiz-Anchia - Cinematographer, Peter Hoffman - Producer, Herb Nanas - Producer, Barry Berg - Producer, Sam Perlmutter - Producer, Andre Rouleau - Producer, David Braun - Producer, Maxime Remillard - Producer, Susan MacQuarrie - Set Designer, Sylvain Arseneault - Sound/Sound Designer, Steve Barancik - Screenwriter, Christopher Canaan - Screenwriter, Dashiell Hammett - Short Story Author
Jack Friar is a police detective who, while doing a friend a favor and searching for a runaway teenager on Turk Street, stumbles upon a bizarre band of criminals about to pull off a bank robbery. Jack finds himself being held hostage while the criminals decide what to do with him, and the leader's beautiful girlfriend Erin is left alone to watch Jack.
Erin, who is a master manipulator of the men in the gang, reveals another side to Jack — a melancholy romantic who could have been a classical cellist. She finds Jack's captivity an irresistible turn-on and he cannot figure out if she is for real, or manipulating him, too. Before the gang returns, Jack and Erin's connection intensifies and who ends up with the money is anyone's guess.
During the scene where David Brewster is driving in the rain, the song playing is "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone", which originated from the TV series The Monkees, which Bob Rafelson created. The version in this film is performed by his son, Peter Rafelson.
