Themes: Sibling Relationships, Haunted By the Past, Members of the Press
Main Cast: Billy Zane, Gina Gershon, Sheryl Lee, Rue McClanahan, Seymour Cassel
Release Year: 1997
Country: US
Run Time: 100 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Pulp fiction writer Jim Thompson's novels have been adapted into noirish movies such as The Grifters and this one, directed by Michael Oblowitz. This unusual dark tragedy is narrated by Marty (Billy Zane), a successful investigative reporter who is unhappy with his shy and sick wife. As children, Marty and his twin sister Carol (Gina Gershon) saw their father and his mistress murdered in their home. Their mother (Rue McClanahan) took the children on the road, and they had a tumultuous childhood before finally settling in a small town in California. Marty and Carol had an incestuous relationship, and now they resume it after Marty leaves his wife and job to visit his sister and mother. Carol has been divorced and has become a cheap hooker. Marty soon hooks up with a classy, highly professional policewoman, Lois Archer (Sheryl Lee), who has a secret need to treated abusively, and they spend decadent weekends together at a beach cottage that Lois and her husband own. Marty and Carol plot to get the cabin for themselves after Carol poisons a couple of gangsters who are horning in on her prostitution business. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
Mary Vernieu - Casting, Albert T. Dickerson - Co-producer, Frank K. Issac - Co-producer, Dan Moore - Costume Designer, Michael Oblowitz - Director, Emma E. Hickox - Editor, Billy Zane - Executive Producer, Barr Potter - Executive Producer, Pete Rugolo - Composer (Music Score), Brad Boles - Makeup, Maia Javan - Production Designer, Tom Priestley Jr. - Cinematographer, Larry Gross - Producer, Brad Wyman - Producer, Chris Hanley - Producer, Coll Anderson - Sound/Sound Designer, Larry Gross - Screenwriter, Jim Thompson - Short Story Author
