Red Rock West (1993)
A year before directing the excellent neo-noir The Last Seduction John Dahl made this equally good example which stars Nicolas Cage, Dennis Hopper, Lara Flynn Boyle and JT Walsh.
It's a beautifully twisty desert town set thriller in which Cage's drifter is mistaken for a hit man hired by Walsh to kill his own wife (Boyle). Taking the money Cage informs Boyle of her husbands plan and she pays him double to kill Walsh. Cage then decides to do a runner with the money killing nobody in the process, then the real hit man (Hopper) turns up.
This is a brilliant little gem of a movie. There's a sneaky streak of black comedy throughout and plot devices you won't see coming. The four main cast members are all at the top of their game and in Cage's case it was one of the films that made him a 90's superstar. Dahl directs with the cunning of a fox throwing in coincidences that seem unreal but also perfectly understandable in turn creating a devilish, gripping and fascinating slice of modern noir.
I highly recommend Red Rock West. The Blu-ray from Plan B is a delight, plenty of extras and it comes with a repro of the movie poster, 36 page full colour booklet with lots of photos and a slip case.
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