Der Fremde

"Out of Season" is not an unambitious or uninteresting movie. It tries to present six different characters, and two parallel plot lines that eventually cross each other's paths. But this is another one of those movies where the director tries to impose his "style" (tilted camera angles, slow-motion, strange close-ups, etc.) on almost every shot - this is obtrusive and distracting. And he really overreaches when he tries to turn this story of human greed into some kind of "religious" tragedy. Ultimately, it's an unpleasant and (in Dennis Hopper's case) degrading film. Most of the actors do what they have to do to collect their paycheck, nothing more. The standout is David Murray, who plays a convincingly hateful scumbag. Dominique Swain has one or two sexy moments (no nudity though). (**)

What a flat, boring, unnecessarily drawn-out storyline, complete with equally as baneful acting. Every concept surrounding the characters and the storyline is typical "dark" cliché, and very poorly done at that. Oh, it has its share of typical, exhausted characters: the demented religious zealot, the femme fatale, so on and so on...they are all essentially dull and static. Dominique Swain is totally obnoxious as Kelly, and leaves one wishing that she was the subject of the murder plot. Pierre is hands-down the most boring character in the entire film; he serves as little more than someone to stand there and wait for action in the storyline to come to him. And that clown? I won't even go there. So "there's no happy ending." Yawn. Big deal. What an original concept. It's only been done a thousand times before, and by far better actors and directors. About the only thing this film is good for is curing insomnia. Utterly atrocious.

I really like Dennis Hopper from Easy Rider on......yuck! Total waste of time! It was definitely a "B" movie. I could not find anything redeeming in it. By the way, this is the first time I have ever taken the time to comment on a movie, but this one really did me in. Had to go to a Dennis Hopper site to see what he was doing these days, and he's doing a lot---maybe that's the reason--should have turned this one down! Can't say much about the other actors in film. Just finished watching it, and already it's a blur. I would think Dennis Hopper at this point in his life, could pick and choose the really good parts. Had to do 5 other things while watching just waiting for the ending....glad I didn't pay money for this.

I liked the movie. The characters matched the setting perfectly. The characters are shifty and edgy and not quite right as is the decaying off season amusement park where they hover. The movie was possibly too violent at the end but the viewer could see that the rot would never come to a peaceful resolution.Their Low life dreams were well described. I liked the bleakness of the unused boardwalk, the sounds of the rides being tested, the rain bucket which catches water from a leak that would have been there for years. Mary Poppins would not like this neighborhood . And the characters who cling there dream small time dreams...small scores which they think are big but the viewer knows are not worth the effort.

Seeing Dennis Hopper, Gina Gershon, and Dominique Swain (Face/Off, Lolita) is reason enough to like this neo-noir thriller. A bonus is David Murray (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, who plays an ultra-religious scumbag.

What appeared to be a simple case of a girl wanting to keep a drifter in town for her own pleasure, turned into a complex web of deceit and double-crossing that blew up because someone was thrust in the middle.

It was fascinating to watch, but more fascinating to see Hopper as a burned out thief, Gershon as a real bitch, and Swain playing everyone against each other.