Dead but not dull in Denver
Referring to the activities of a gang of misfit petty criminals whose time has run out, Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead is the debut effort from director Gary Fleder and screenwriter Scott Rosenberg.
Jimmy the Saint (Andy Garcia) has retired from the criminal world and is running a video service for the terminally ill when he receives a summons from The Man with the Plan (Christopher Walken). He's offered a simple job for a lot of money - and as it doesn't involve murder, Jimmy is happy to round up his ragtag bunch of former cronies to carry it out.
Franchise (William Forsythe) is eager to escape his trailer park hell, Easy Wind (Bill Nunn), Pieces (Christopher Lloyd) and Critical Bill (Treat Williams) also eagerly join in the fray.
But Critical Bill has earned his nickname for psychotic behaviour, and he's instrumental in the scheme's failure. Jimmy knows they all have limited time left on Earth as The Man with the Plan sends out hitman Mr Shhh (Steve Buscemi) to terminate the old gang one by one. He tries to save his friends but it's obvious that his attempts are doomed.
As the clock ticks away, the gang finds new and interesting things to do in Denver and the film zips along at a cracking pace, fuelled by an intriguing line of hip slang, a seductive performance from Garcia, and Walken doing his maniac routine with a little more life than recently seen.
This independent, low-budget film attacks the plot with a zest rarely seen in larger Hollywood productions. Best likened to The Usual Suspects in tone, Things To Do In Denver is involving, humorous, oddly-paced at times, but never dull.
Which is more than can be said of La Ceremonie (A Judgement in Stone), the latest from French director Claude Chabrol from a book written by Ruth Rendell.
A fairly formulaic psychological thriller, it's only saved by its inherent French-ness - the flatness and thick pacing so beloved of Chabrol (Madame Bovary ) conspire to lend the film a menacing tone. But La Ceremonie does seem interminable at times, loaded with meaningful glances and portentous statements.
Sophie (Isabelle Huppert) joins the painfully yuppieish Lelievre family as a maid; initially, the mistress of the house (Jacqueline Bisset) is delighted with her new charge, but things slowly go awry. Sophie meets up with the village nutcase Jeanne (Sandrine Bonnaire) and they discover a lot in common - including previous murders.
When the Lelievre family attempts to force Sophie and Jeanne apart, it's obvious that their days are numbered and the final denouement is a little more severe than might have been expected.
If La Ceremonie had been made in England, it would have washed up on TV as an Inspector Morse ; instead, Chabrol attempts to make some woolly statements on the subject of class.
Huppert does, however, turn in a magnetic performance as Sophie, for which she won a Cesar this year.
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (Windsor, Silvercord and Broadway cinemas in Mongkok, Tsuen Wan and Kwai Fong; La Ceremonie (Cine-Art House)
