Review of Red Rock West (1993) by Christopher G — 30 Oct 2013

During the late 80's-mid 90's there was a big resurgence of film noir influenced films.

Just in case you didn't know, the genre's peak was the 1940's through the early 60's and understanding the genre might have some influence on how much you enjoy Red Rock West. Film noir films are often dark, pessimistic, stylistic and often the films deal with fate, corruption, twists and even plot contrivances. Naturally, there have been some variations over the years, but those are a lot of the things you will find in films influenced by film noir.

Anyway, Red Rock West is about a loser named Mike who only has 5 dollars to his name and is desperate for a job. On top of that, he is dealing with a leg injury that makes it hard for him to land a job in the line of work he seeks. So, eventually he lands in the town of Red Rock where he stops off for a drink at the local bar. And that's where the real trouble begins.

As luck would would have it, the bartender asks if Mike if he is "Lyle" from Texas. Seeing the chance for a job, Mike plays along and passes himself off as Lyle... But what Mike doesn't know is that the bartender Wayne wants his wife killed and is willing to pay thousands to do it.

What will Mike do? He has the chance to earn thousands of dollars by simply murdering a stranger. But it's not that easy since Mike is a decent guy. The kind of guy that refuses to take handouts and who refuses the tempting criminal urges that is presented to him earlier in the film. However, the choice to accept the job in the first place means he's destined to alter the lives of people and therefore there will be consequences to his actions.

Red Rock West is filled with twists and turns that might seem fresh or predictable depending on how many of these type of films that you've seen. But for those that aren't used to the genre, but warned about the plot contrivances because if you're picky on that type of thing you might be annoyed by this movie. Otherwise, it's a good genre film that's good enough to be entertaining (and even re-watchable) but not original enough to standout as a classic.

But as it is, I'd suggest giving it a watch. The performances are really good and carry the film even when some of the twists or turns might not make sense to you. And it's a good turn by Nick Cage who really shines as the unlucky losers with bad luck.

8/10.