Review of Kiss of Death (1995) by Adam R — 06 Jul 2011

"Kiss of Death" is a rather boilerplate thriller to be sure, pairing typical '90s grungy filmmaking with classic elements of crime and films noir past. Despite solid contributions from David Caruso (in his first film role after finding success on "NYPD Blue") and Samuel L. Jackson, Barbet Schroeder's thriller does little to distinguish itself.

That is, except for inspired casting and an even more inspired performance from Nicolas Cage. Cage sheds all of the internalized anguish of his performance in the same year's "Leaving Las Vegas" to become the buff, brash, outwardly aggressive, downright psychotic Little Junior Brown, the antagonist of the picture.

Though Little Junior will never be remembered as Cage's best onscreen performance (which would probably come down to a tie between Charlie/Donald Kaufman in "Adaptation" and Terrence McDonagh in "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans"), he does add some much-needed energy in a movie where otherwise reliably charismatic actors (Caruso, Jackson, Ving Rhames and Stanley Tucci, to name a few) play it straight and fade into the background.

Junior's first major scene revolves around him bench-pressing a stripper. Later, after a night of crime, he tells Caruso's Jimmy Kilmartin -- in the most deadpan, straight-faced way imaginable -- "we should have a conversation about life and shit." Add to that a phobia of metallic utensils, asthma (which becomes a plot point that isn't completely botched, surprisingly) and a fetish for track suits that makes "Nice Guy" Eddie look subtle, and you have a flamboyant villain who makes his dark, sludgy colleagues on both sides of the law look dull.

Cage's standout work here can best be exemplified by a brief monologue about acronyms that a lesser actor would have bungled. Not many actors in movies today can convince audiences they are men with "Balls, Attitude, Direction," but Cage certainly can -- both in "Kiss of Death" and his many other roles.