Romeo Is Bleeding

Legend says that, after seeing this film, Bon Jovi decided not to allow their ballade "Always" to be included in it, even though it was written for the film. It's their loss.

Romeo is Bleeding is one of those films you either love or hate; it's energetic, unapologetic and raw. Not subtle at all. It goes between a perfect film noir and a parody of the genre. But the best thing about it is the fact it doesn't take itself too seriously.

It is a story of a dirty cop and a mysterious, dangerous woman. Gary Odlman and Lena Olin are perfect in their roles, neatly over the top when situation demands it. They understand what kind of the film they're in, even if we don't get it; but everything fits so well at the end.

No, it is not a serious, nostalgic film noir. Nor is a highly sexualized 90s crime drama along the lines of Basic Instinct. It's both, at the same time, and more. Some of the action - or sex - scenes will make you laugh, and at one point you might think what you're watching is pure trash. But somehow, it's part of the charm. Because even with the simple (and, dare to say, predictable) plot, this film manages to be unique and memorable.

Every time its May 1 or December 1, I think of this movie. It means something, it must be good to leave that kind of impression on me. When a movie sticks in your mind, even if its just one quote, for so long after you have seen it (and the last time I saw it was 3 or 4 years ago) it means it can't be bad. So thats one thing. Another thing is that it has absolutely top notch cast. Gary Oldman, Lena Olin, Michael Wincott, Juliette Lewis, Annabella Sciorra, Will Patton and James Cromwell-all serious and talented actors. And the story is very interesting too. I mean you have this so-flawed main character who is at the same time very human and even sympathetic in a way that he's lost, he can't really help all the mess he's got himself in. It is a very human character, no? And in the end he does the right thing, but is it too late? Seems so. This movie is just about that-how we sometimes don't wake up and see the light until we have lost everything that was dear to us.

What is the flaw with the movie? Maybe its that it didn't perhaps get everything it could from such an interesting storyline. I mean, corrupt cop who's in the mafia's pocket and cheats on his wife yet loves her, then gets caught in the dangerous game with a deadly Russian criminal who is a man eater at the same time...well, maybe not after all. Its a movie that succeeds in pulling it all together rather well and at the same time making us stay on the edge of our seat to see whats gonna happen next. Not many American modern movies have done that. I can mention one that came out the same year as this one, Carlito's Way. But that is a different story and genre really. That was a gangster film noir with a love story thrown in, this is both a film noir and a love story. Thats why the title is ROMEO is Bleeding.

Gary Oldman makes one of his strongest performances and the same can perhaps be said for Olin, who is very convincing and menacing in her part as the deadly seductress whose only aim is to devour everything in her path. The ending leaves us in doubt to what really happened, there is no typical Hollywood ending and thats good. It again mirrors how things really go in life as Jack is left on his own waiting anxiously for his wife but nobody, not even he, knows if he will ever see her again. And thats art imitating life.

Peter Medak's Romeo Is Bleeding is one of the most overlooked crime films of the 90's. It's a downbeat, pitch black, simmering sociopathic neo noir filled to the brim with excellent character actors and actresses inhabiting various delicious cop, gangster and femme fatale roles. It has a lyrical, moody poetry to it it, evoking the noir flicks of the 40's albeit with a decidedly modern, violent and demoralizing bite to it. Gary Oldman, in a monumentally underrated performance, plays Jack Grimaldi, a sleaze bag cop attempting to play the Police force, the Feds and the mob against each other in order to make obscene amounts of dirty money for himself. He's a two timing, amoral asshole of a protagonist, but Oldman plays him in a stray dog, sheepish way that you just can't help root for him, and feel like an outlaw doing so. Of course his scheme falls apart (as all schemes like this do, in movie land) spectacularly so, at the hands of Mona Demarkov (Lena Olin) a tyrannical, deranged Russian contract killer with a penchant for gleeful brutality and unhinged violence. Olin is a wonder in the role, a grinning black velvet spider and a source of constant nightmares for Jack, as well as the audience. The film has a darkly comic, almost fairy tale like quality to it, a sense of inevitable karmic catastrophe at the hands of the mob and the law. Oldman mournfully narrates the proceedings from a hazy desert enclave that may or may not just be a dream, and yearns for a second chance. Medal directs with steely, melodramatic precision. Juliette Lewis does her early 90's ditzy thing to perfection, Annabella Sciorra is sweet as Jack's poor wife, the only sympathetic character in the whole deal, Roy Scheider feels a bit miscast as the vengeful mob boss, but Ron Perlman, Michael Wincott, Will Patton, James Chromwell, David Proval and Dennis Farina are top notch in welcome cameos. I feel like this script alone should have gotten a lot more attention, let alone the simply stunning, beautiful film that it has turned into. Anyone who's a fan of crime films, noir, good story lines, and this troupe of actors (and really, how can you not be, just look at this cast!!) will love this.

Big city police officers with basement-filth addictions will identify with much of this masterpiece. I did.

"Jack" has a problem; Money and Sex. When he's not getting enough of one, he seeks way too much of the other. Jack had big dreams. And, he was doing something about those dreams. Everything was going great, until one day...everything started going wrong. You see, there's not much future in playing four sides against the middle. Especially when the four sides include a mobster, an opposing mobster (a female sex-goddess), a beautiful supporting loving wife, and a super-hot luscious girlfriend. Jack is not just bleeding...he's hemorraging!

If you're a police officer, this In-Service Training Film is a requirement! WARNING: HAVE DRINK IN HAND WHEN VIEWING

Like Jack says, "Hell...is when you should have walked away, and didn't". Good Luck!

One of my favorite lines from "Romeo Is Bleeding," an overlooked tribute to film noir. Jack Grimaldi(Oldman)is a crooked cop that rats info to the mob about the whereabouts of mob witnesses. He is also a louse of a husband, cheating on his wife(Sciorra)with a waitress (Lewis). Life, in his view, is good, especially when he gets the money from the mob, which he uses "To feed the hole" in his backyard. Then, one day, his life slowly goes on a descent to hell when he is assigned to watch over the deliciously wicked Mona(Lena Olin, who should have gotten an Oscar nod for this performance). Mona makes a proposition to Jack: Help her fake her death and he will be paid VERY well. The problem is that the mob, led by Roy Scheider, wants Jack to wipe her out, or they will wipe him out. What happens to the characters in this film is what makes this a very intense film. The scenes between Olin and Oldman are hot enough to burn a hole in your television screen. This is a must see film that you have to have in your collection.