Review of Albino Alligator (1997) by Eric H — 06 Sep 2007

I was pleasantly surprised by this. I had always passed it over because it just did not sound very interesting to me when it came out, but this time around it sounded good. First, I enjoyed the fact that it takes place in a bar over a single night. The story, about some criminals who were in wrong place at the wrong time and end up holding bar patrons hostage, is very good and raises many questions that test the morality of Dillon's character. It was an interesting enough story in that I started to wonder how I would handle the situation: with Fichtner's plan (which seemed to be most realistic and truly plausible) or Sinise's (which would not allow any murder).

Second, the characters are both mysterious and realistic. I particularly enjoyed William Fichtner as the sociopath of the group. Sinise was great as the voice of reason. Dillon was good as the oft manipulated man in the middle. It is actually very interesting as Sinise plays the angel on his shoulder as Fichtner plays the demon - it worked very well.

M. Emmit Walsh is his usual entertaining self, I just wish he had more screen time. Mantegna has a hilarious scene with a reporter and other than that he doesn't have a lot to do. Dunaway is interesting as a slight seductress with an air of mystery around her. And Viggo Mortensen impresses as he conveys so much with his body language and face while having a lack of dialogue.

Spacey directed and he shows a real sense of style using effective overhead shots (in the car wreck scene) and using slow pans throughout to create a sense of the situation and the tension. This is his directorial debut and it is impressive.