The Settlement

I founded and own a successful Viatical and Life Settlement Brokerage, having been in life insurance since the '60's. This movie is a very good combination of black comedy, political and sexual satire, film noir mystery, and morality play. From my perspective, it gets better each time I watch it. Those of us in the industry know, of course, that key elements of the business side of the film are completely impossible, but it's easy to suspend disbelief and go along for the ride. About the only complaint I'd make is that the audio is at times very difficult to pick up, and I recommend boosting treble and minimizing bass to get all the interchanges between the two main characters. Lots of luck finding this movie via rental as not even Netflix carries it. I bought lots of copies for my Settlement business colleagues and a select few of my friends. If you liked Pulp Fiction, odds are you'll like this one...and vice-versa.

I too enjoyed this film. It was just dark enough to make me question whether it was a drama or a comedy. I don't think this movie will ever make my top 100 list, but just as you cannot stop reading a good book, I couldn't stop watching this flick. It stayed within itself very well, which helped to make this a very solid and entertaining movie.

As I said to my girlfriend as we were going to bed after watching The Settlement, I thought the person to blame for the way Hollywood films are today is none other than the loveable and extremely talented Steven Spielberg. He raised the bar so high that it's almost mandatory that every film be a special FX extravaganza. Then along comes a film like The Settlement. There are no aliens, no genetically gargantuan shark, no lost religious artifacts to be uncovered. What it does have is great dialogue and a great relationship between the main characters. John C. Reilly and William Fitchner run a sleazy business of buying terminal illness patients's life-insurance policies. The patient gets some cash to fulfill they're dying dream and when they die the partners get the full amount of the policy. It's like making a business out of death pools. Disgusting as this is, it doesn't matter. The guys are extremely likeable and when they're business starts to falter, I found myself pulling for them as they have one last chance to get out of financial ruin. The other great thing about The Settlement is the use of irony between the main characters. In the beginning,John C. Reilly's character is the weak, pessimistic one and William Fitchner is the strong optimist, than through one of the twists in the film the roles are reversed! I thank Premier magazine for recommending this film and others that I plan on viewing in the near future. I highly recommend this film. It was definately one of the freshest and entertaining movies I've seen in a while.

This gets a 10.0 to offset whatever misinformed voters took it down to a 5.0, and it is a solid 8.0 viewing experience no matter what. Anytime death is the motivation for monetary gain in a dark comedy, it is usually a winning combination (see "Eating Raoul"). "The Settlement" has a creative script, great chemistry between John C. Reilly and William Fichtner, and some of the darkest humor in any film. It's a scam, noir, murder, that delivers inspired dialog without any distraction from it's minor budget. Seek this one out if you admire true "black comedy". It most certainly will hold up to repeat viewings. As a matter of fact I can't wait to watch it again. - MERK

Opportunist insurance hacks Jerry (William Fichtner) and Pat's (John C. Reilly) hopes of avoiding bankruptcy after purchasing beautiful cancer victim Barbara's (Kelly McGillis) policy ultimately provides them with a wealth of misfortune. With glistering dialogue, Steilen's peppy, blackly funny crime thriller finds Kelly McGillis, John C. Reilly and William Fichtner on especially lively form. The engaging text, zippy direction, flashes of mordant humour, and on-point performances strongly suggest that The Settlement deserves to be emancipated from its wholly undeserved bargain bin DVD status. This appealingly smart, seemingly neglected 90s gem is a comedy-Noir treat, with sinfully slinky siren McGillis an absolute delight as firecracker femme fatal Barbara.