|
|
How to cut it? Watch as two very big personalities with bad tempers go at it and chew up the scenery. Very different in styles too. One hardened and lean, quietly going about his business which suited Lee Marvin, while Gene Hackman was all show, arrogant and aggressive in getting what he wants. So when these two come to blows, the confrontations are a sight to see. The story follows that of an underworld enforcer Nick Devlin sent to Kansas City by the Chicago mafia to collect money owned from a mobster Mary Ann who has no intention of paying, as those who have tried have met an untimely end (opening credits is an ingenious touch that won't have you looking at sausages in the same way again). So they hire the best in Devlin. A meat-packing plant fronts for Ann's other business dealings involving drugs and prostitution. "Prime Cut" is a hard-hitting 70s gangster joint, which can be brutal in its melodramatics and excessive in its details. It's a rough and tumble, if drawn out cat and mouse chase exercise with a pinch noir, as no one wants to step down from their stance. The script is unassuming, but vigorous when it has to be. Some moments do have a dark underbelly, like how the prostitutes are treated like live-stock. Drugged, paraded and demoralised. "Cow flesh. Girl flesh. All the same to me. " Throughout there are symbolic images, like when Marvin and his crew are riding into a storm, which mirrors what's to come in its climatic payoff. These moments stand out more, because it does feel aimless and maybe too simple in its automatic, if minimalistic narrative drive made up of hidden agendas. Director Michael Ritchie's hasty styling is comfortable, especially in constructing pockets of tense set-pieces (wheat tractor chase) and the picturesque backdrop adds genuine flavour. While it's the two leads that steal the show, making her film debut is the impressive Sissy Spacek, who's doll-face appearance simply sticks with you. Gregory Walcott also leaves a mark. Odd, but a conventionally engaging and unflinching action thriller.
"Anyway it cuts."
score 8/10
lost-in-limbo 28 July 2012
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2650916/ |
|
28-2-2021 00:07:04