Luna de porcelana

A nice little thriller with a twist. Charles Dance wasted again, this time with the most ridiculous Southern accent. I like Ed Harris in just about anything, so he got me through this one. Stowe is good; I have also liked her in other movies where you have to pay attention to the dialog. I have lately discovered that del Toro has been around much longer than I realized - it is nice to see his early work as an indication of the presence he has on-screen. The comparisons to "Body Heat" are understandable - but I think this one stands on its own as one way to spend an evening with a movie that you actually watch to see what happens.

I've rented a few movies lately that have been alright but have failed to really catch my attention. This, however, was different. First of all, it's film noir, and you gotta love film noir. "Palmetto", "Body Heat", "Double Indemnity", "The Big Sleep". A good guy gets screwed by a beautiful temptress. Only, in "China Moon" it's different. I won't tell the ending or any details. But this was a very well executed film, very suspenseful. It doesn't follow any cliches and it always has new tricks and twists. Like a lot of film noir, this film features heat, wetness, the night, and cops. A lot of movies attempt film noir but don't always achieve its true spark. This film achieves it.

This picture that seems to have escaped the notice of the movie-going public is a stylish, murky thriller that has interesting twists and turns and good performances by Ed Harris and Madeleine Stowe. The premise of the story has been done before in several noir films of the past but Harris brings credibility to his role as a smitten cop. A crack detective who solves crimes with the best of them, Harris is a lonely man who is ripe for the picking by Stowe who is not all as she seems. The sexy brunette ranks right up there with Phyllis Deitrichson and Matty Tyler Walker as the genre's classic femme fatales. The supporting cast is good, among them are Benecio del Toro and Charles Dance in key roles. The music score is soft and sultry, very similar to John Barry's theme in "Body Heat".

Although I'm a film buff I had never heard of this film, but found it surprisingly good. The plot isn't particularly startling but there are some neat twists. Above all, there is a terrific performance from Ed Harris as Kyle. You can see from the way the other cops react to him just how good he is at his job, and how much they respect him, and his fall from grace is heart-rending. By the end of the film, he looks about ten years older than he did at the beginning. His romance with Rachel is totally convincing - just the way he looks at her says it all. All in all, an interesting film which didn't deserve to sink without trace.

When homicide detective Kyle Brodine starts seeing the wife of businessman Rupert Monro he finds himself falling in love with her. When her relationship gets violent with her husband he begs her to leave him, however she doesn't but when she accidentally kills him with an illegal gun she turns to him for help. Unable to go to the police he helps her cover it up. However later the police suspect foul play and Kyle and his partner are put on the case. As they investigate more evidence begins to point to Kyle and it appears that Rachel has not been totally honest with him.

Proof that good noir still exists. This film never saw the inside of an UK cinema – it went straight to video on release. However the plot is a good tangled web of murder, mystery and deceit. It manages to be twisty despite the fact that this sort of thing has been done many times before. The plot unfolds late and very quickly, managing to be believable and gripping.

The main reason for this is a great performance from Ed Harris. The feeling of him being sucking into something is written all over his face – and the way he goes from cop in control of all the details into a hunted animal is really good. Stowe is also really good and the support cast also has quality – whether it be Charles Dance or a young looking Del Toro.

Overall this may not break box office records but as a thriller it is twisty, contains plenty of good lines and has a great lead performance from Harris.