SNAKEEYES
Sherrie Lee
Directed by: Brian De Palma Produced by: DeBart/Paramount Pictures Cast: Nicolas Cage (Rick Santoro), Gary Sinise (Kevin Dunne), Carla Gugino (Julia Costello), Stan Shaw (Lincoln Tyler). Runtime: 99 min Rating: *** out of ***** Official Website: www.snakeeyesmovie.com
This Review Filed: 11 September, 1998.
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What starts out as a great thriller, and continues to be for the most part, ends in an unbelievably farcical and cheesy manner that is out of sync with the rest of the movie. Such a pity since the movie seemed to promise to be a fine thriller.
Nicholas Cage plays Rick Santoro, an Atlantic City, New Jersey cop, corrupt but harmless, who takes his seat in the front row to watch heavyweight champion Lincoln Tyler (Stan Shaw) fight his final match, together with best friend, Kevin Dunne (Gary Sinise) who is present at the arena to protect the U.S. Defence Secretary. The politician is shot in the midst of the fight and cop and officer work together to solve the case.
The opening sequence is energetic, engaging in close ups and short takes, building up the atmosphere of fight night. We see Cage, decked in a flashy suit, bouncing from person to person, pulling punches to get his way, oozing sleaze as he extorts money to place a bet on Tyler and as he switches from girlfriend to wife on his gaudy gold cell phone. But when he has to solve the case of the assassination, Cage turns dedicated detective, rough but thorough.
As the case is uncovered, the different points of view are revealed bit by bit till we get the whole picture. The layers of truth and perspective consist of quick and thoughtful shots, contributing to the pace of the movie. Gary Sinise plays his brooding character well enough but the more interesting people to watch are the supporting actors like Julia Costello who plays a nervous suspect on the run. (Also, watch out for the coffee guy from ELLEN who makes a small appearance.)
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The tightly knit chase centers round the boxing arena and the nearby casino, and the action takes place within a couple of hours. At the same time, the issue of corruption is a running theme with Atlantic City as the metaphorical backdrop. The thematic issue is cleverly handled as the line between clear wrongdoing and acceptable action is often blurred. However, it appears that director and scriptwriter ran out of ideas towards the end and instead if being clever, sink into a deep pit of unsatisfying ironic comment and unimaginative dialogue.
SNAKE EYES could have been a great film but the incongruous ending spoiled its potential greatness. Nonetheless, go watch it, even if only for the sustained good acting and exciting camera angles.
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