CrissCross

This is one of those movies where the user rating seems strangely out of step with the comments on it. With one, barely worth the mention, exception, all those who have commented liked the film. I too found it a very pleasant diversion and a film that I have happily watched several times.

To my way of thinking young David Arnott does a terrific job and is absolutely charming. He plays Chris, a completely innocent kid who gets on the wrong side of the law, when he sees an opportunity to get enough cash to rescue his mother, Goldie Horn, from her new job as a stripper. It is a big ask to take a 12-year old lad with no acting experience to play what amounts to the lead in a movie and to narrate it too. It is also asking a lot for him to have to be filmed briefly in the buff in one scene. If he had a problem or two, it is hardly surprising. Nevertheless, it is his innocent charm which carries the film. There is also a nice chemistry between David Arnott and Goldie Horn.

I sincerely hope that this was not another case of the critics massacring a movie and with it a promising kid's career.

Of course it was no blockbuster, but just a nice, unglamorized story from a page out of the life of this fractured family. You could really get a feel for the time, and the soundtrack served that well, as well as the backdrop of the moon landing. It really brought back those sweet, sultry memories of long, carefree summers and young love. I think almost every note was true to life, even if the ending was a little too pat. Goldie Hawn did a great job with this more dramatic role (and still looked great!) and her co-lead, David Arnott, gave a realistic yet understated performance. David Carradine's part was brief and somewhat shallow, but still effective in conveying the emotional fallout from the Vietnam experience, however; it certainly wasn't a "Jacknife" caliber role. The scenery and atmosphere of the movie was beautiful and really made you feel like you were right there. It made for a nice Sunday afternoon viewing.

It's amazing how Goldie Hawn is almost always overlooked when she tries to play it serious, even when she's good. A perfect example of this is 1991's "Crisscross," dealing with the special relationship between a young single mother and her twelve-year old son.

Set in Key West, Florida, just prior to the first moon landing, the film is loaded with atmosphere, and the Key West scenes are beautiful (Amazing how the only film that ever shows how it can be during the hurricane season was the Paul Hogan/Elijah Wood "Flipper." But I digress.). Best of all, though, are Hawn and young David Arnott, as mother and son, both giving understated, believable performances. Young Arnott, especially, should have had a major career ahead of him. As it was, this was his only film role. Does anyone know what became of him?

The supporting actors are good, as well, particularly Arliss Howard as the writer Hawn falls in love with, and the actors, whose names escape me, playing the characters of Emmett, Bugs, and Termina.

This film is a true hidden treasure. Watch it, and you have a real treat in store.

Criss Cross takes place in Key West, 1969. The biggest success of this movie is creating a realistic sense of time and place. You can practically feel the humidity and smell the ocean in this movie.

Goldie Hawn plays a divorced mother raising her 12 year old son, played by David Arnott. I don't know the full story, but I have read that quite a few critics made rather vicious comments about David's performance. Without even taking into consideration that this was his acting debut, I thought his acting was quite good. He was likable and charming. For once, we see a kid who actually acts and talks like a kid. When you see him working (three jobs, no less), it really looks like he is working, not just going through the motions.

It might have taken some work by the acting coaches to produce the performance we see on screen, but the end result is excellent.

David also narrates the movie. I liked his relaxed, laconic speaking style. It really set the tone for the movie.

Criss Cross is a movie that stays with me because it shows a vanished world, a place and time that can't be reproduced. It is a world of living simply. Life is hard, but there is a pervasive sense of hope. It reminded me of the first time I visited Spain's Costa del Sol in 1983. The "outside world" hadn't made a dent in many of the smaller towns. You could walk into a small, family run store and see merchandise that must have been on the shelves for many years. The pace was slow, and in retrospect the days all seemed sunny and warm.

That is how this movie will make you feel.

Goldie Hawn tackles a surprising role here, as a mom from the hard side of the tracks, and carries it off with notable success.

The setting is Key West in 1969. In the film, Goldie plays a single mom who's reduced to working in strip clubs after her husband, a former Navy pilot played by Keith Carradine, succumbs to PTSD, descends into drunkennes and eventually goes off to live in a monestary. At first, Goldie just slings drinks at the strip clubs. But in order to fulfill the dream, shared by her and her son, of once again living in a house rather than a run-down hotel, she graduates to bump 'n grind to bring in more money.

The son, played very well by David Arnott, is a 12-year old who is naturally wounded by his father's absence. He also becomes deeply upset when he discovers his mother is stripping. In addition, a new man enters her life, a writer played by Arliss Howard. This generates some resentment from the son.

The son, Chris, has a busy life beyond this. He hangs out with his good friend Buggs and goes out with his sister Termina. He also does many side-jobs to help out with money. One of his jobs involves delivering fish regularly from a ship at sea to the hotel cook. On one of his delivery runs he discovers that the fish are filled with cocaine. Thus begins the true plot of the movie, as Chris devises a scheme to sell drugs in order to save his mother from stripping.

This was the most unfortunate aspect of the film. While the basic concept of the plot wasn't bad, it culminates in a scene that fails to make sense. Since the screenplay was by Scott Sommer, based on his novella, one imagines he had it this way in the source material, but then again it may have been added for cinematic effect and structural closure. Basically, it didn't work.

Aside from this, the movie was well-played and largely enjoyable. The Key West locations are beautiful and sunny. You can almost feel the heat and humidity. Goldie looks great, and she drives a '59 Chrysler Imperial that's pretty cool even though it's seen better days. The overall milieu and characters are believable. David Arnott, in his first and, unfortunately, last role, gives an understated performance that should have launched a successful career. The soundtrack was actually cool enough to include Count Five's 'Psychotic Reaction.'

The pace of the film is slow, even lazy at times. This usually serves the film well but does lead to some leaden areas that shoot the boredom factor way up. There is also a lot of voice-over narration by Arnott. While it's nice to know what's in the character's head, they go overboard with it.

In the end this is a flawed film of small scope. It won't land on your list of classics but, despite its flaws, its earnestness, emotional complexity, good performances and great locations make it a pleasant way to spend a couple hours.