From Dusk Till Dawn is a collaboration between my fave, Robert Rodriquez and former cult fave, Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino, wrote and co-starred, Rodriguez directed and edited, both co-produced.
Tarantino and George Clooney play brothers who are wanted criminals. They take a family, comprised of Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis and some kid I wasn't too impressed with, hostage in order to sneak over the border to Mexico. In Mexico, they go to a rendezvous point, an outrageous bar called the Titty Twister, where they will meet Clooney's contact at dawn. The family will be set free, and Tarantino and Clooney will get to the mythical town of El Rey where they can live safely.
The Catch? A bar of Mexican vampires.
As I said, the first half (the brothers on the run) is terrific, highlighted by a strong script, great performances (Clooney, Keitel and, yes, even Tarantino) and excellent direction (Rodriguez edits one scene so that the audience only gets subliminal shots of horror in the next room. Wonderful stuff.) The second half is comic horror in the Evil Dead 2 tradition: lots of exploding bodies, amusing grossness and over the top action.
The problem, and I never thought I would say this, is that Rodriguez hasn't staged his action sequences clearly, resulting in the sort of confusion that distracts audiences. It's all small logistical things that Rodriguez at a technical level, anyway, has never screwed up before.
The script, too, kills off at least one character too soon, introduces some amusing but flat minor characters, and rids us of Selma Hayek too soon. By the time, the end comes, you'll walk out saying "that wasn't as much fun as it could have been" but you won't walk out saying, as Mick LaSalle did "that was easily one of the worst movies of the year." (It's only January, Mick!)
Jim Thompson's The Getaway, ironically enough, film-buff Tarantino has a twist to the end that you'll get only if you read Jim Thompson's The Getaway, as opposed to watching either of movie versions. This movie is enjoyable, unpretentious, and doesn't pretend to be anything deeper than it is-- an exploding body movie. As Dorothy Parker said, "If you like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing you'll like."
All written material on these pages is © 1997 by Jeff Lester. With the exception of non-profit distribution, all other rights are reserved.