Persons Unknown

Ex-cop Jimmy has a one night stand with Amanda but begin to suspects that she had alterative motives when he notices his files have been moved. He begins to follow her and finds that she is part of a gang planning a robbery on a garage. When they carry out the robbery, Jimmy steals their money from storage. When the gang begin to turn up dead Jimmy offers to help Amanda and her sister, however with the drug runners, DEA and a corrupt cop on their trail he finds it a difficult proposition.

The story is not out of the ordinary, robbery goes wrong followed by double cross after double cross. However it is still quite clever and compelling. This is mainly due to the good characters in the film and the back story they have. The action is good as well but it is the back story and complexities of Jimmy, Amanda and Molly that make the film that bit more interesting.

Joe Mantegna has class in bucket loads and is great here as the alarm installer with a past. Kelly Lynch is a bit hammy as Amanda but is good for the majority. Watts as Amanda's sister Molly is also good with a strong character. Strong support also comes in quality form from the like of Xander Berkley and J.T. Walsh.

Overall this is a moody noir that draws strength from it's strong characters. The story may not be too different from the standard noir plot but it is delivered in a dark fashion.

B-flick. A bunch of people after a bunch of money. Sound familiar? "Persons Unknown" tells of an ex-cop with an unreconciled past who falls in with a couple of babes resulting in a tiny bit of sex, a little bit of action, and a big fat bit of drama. Though the film smacks of the usual Hollywood contrivances, such as killing off all the unnecessary characters as an easy fix for dangling loose ends, it does manage to develop interesting relationships between the principals. Is this a good movie? Probably not. It is worth watching? If you're into crime dramas and happen upon it on cable, probably so. If nothing else you'll get Matenga, Lynch, Watts, some early Hickenlooper, and the option of surfing on. (C+)

I saw this movie back in '99 before I knew who Naomi Watts was, but after seeing it, I made sure to take note of her name in the credits.

One thing that I found interesting in this film was their un-cliched use of smoking. In most films, a person only smokes if there is some dramatic reason to due so (eg. To look seductive/sexy, or to show they are bad or "naughty"), but in this film the two sisters just... smoked, plain and simple, and they did so in a manner that made them come across as believable, everyday people. I think there was even a line in there somewhere where Joe's character asks about Naomi's smoking and she replies that her and her sister started when they were kids. A very real scenario, again adding to the characters' believability.

I don't smoke myself so I'm not an advocate of the habit, but everything that can be said about this film already has been said in prior comments and so this was simply something different that came to my attention.

Around 1997 while flicking through cable channels I caught the pier scene in this movie and was instantly hooked. The blonde actress in the wheel chair had an incredible presence even just in profile. I did not know who the actress was but immediately wanted to. I checked and she was Naomi Watts (Jet Girl from "Tank Girl" ?). From that moment I was certain that she was destined to become a star. And it sure looked that way in 1997 as a rising young ingenue.

But then for three years her career lost all momentum and sank into a series of minor roles in forgettable movies punctuated by huge gaps of unemployment before David Lynch pitched her that fast ball over the middle she had been waiting for (at precisely the moment she was set to give up and become a yoga instructor) in "Mulholland Drive" that she hit out of the ballpark.

This is a good, solid, noir film of three people who have screwed up their lives with carelessness and substance abuse desperately seeking another chance. I would like it on DVD. It holds up well with levels revealed with each viewing (the subtleties of the scene where Joe Mantegna first buys the sisters lunch...).

Although "Persons Unknown" is no classic, I must admit I just loved it. It's been a while since I was really emotionaly involved with a movie (not since my viewing 10 months ago of Alfred cheung's "On The Run"). The bad guys are a little to caricatural to my taste but the drama surounding the Joe Montagna character really moved me (what can I say, I am a sucker for "characters with a past"). The score, acting and photography are also flawless.