Dia Fatal

These days a romantic thriller usually means sex, violence, and lots of neon lights, but underneath the typically sultry mood of this latter-day film noir there's a cool intelligence at work. Writer director Mike Figgis combines several strands of plot which otherwise have little in common, involving a moody nightclub owner, a dangerous American entrepreneur, his part-time mistress, and her new, younger boyfriend, all of them in an industrial British seaport dressed up for a hands-across-the-water civic promotion. A movie so self-absorbed with mood and imagery shouldn't work as well as this, but what sets the film apart from other neo-noir facsimiles is the unusual trans-Atlantic blend of talent and the emphasis on cross-cultural confusion, best expressed by a free-jazz rendition (by the Krakow Jazz Ensemble) of the Star Spangled Banner. The atmospheric visual style isn't enough to camouflage the shortcomings of the script, but Figgis maintains the drama at an admirably low-key level, and the location photography in the city of Newcastle takes excellent advantage of an appropriately gritty urban environment.

This is one of those sleeper films, a good one that is not very well- known.....but should be. I really liked this modern-day film noir when I first saw it over a decade ago and the three additional times since.

The movie has all the features of a good noir, most of all a feeling of impending doom throughout, which a good noir exhibits. You know some bad things are going to happen, but you just don't know what and when. That uneasy mood runs throughout the film.

Add some tough characters, great cinematography (nice colors, too, in this case) and even a good blues music score and you have an interesting film. The story here revolves around a ruthless American businessman trying to buy up an entire block of the businesses in one area in Britain.

There's humor in here too with a goofy Polish jazz band, which looked and sounded just awful, and just enough action throughout to keep from getting too talky. Tommy Lee Jones, Melanie Griffith, Sting and Sean Bean star and all are fascinating to watch.

Cosmo (Tommy Lee Jones) is an American businessman with lots of connections, most under the table, who arrives in Newcastle on Tyne to seal deals. The celebration of "America Week" in England announces the malling of Great Britain as American monies of dubious sources invaded while the Thatcher government turned its head. Into this cesspool, Kate (Melanie Griffith) a local waitress and formerly an "escort" for Cosmo is recruited to play nice to business associates he sends her way. Rolling over the small business owners like Finney (Sting) a jazz club owner, Cosmo has no qualms about getting what he wants whether by legit or illegitimate means.

A sub-storyline to the economic takeover by Cosmo is the love story between Kate and Brendan (Sean Bean), an Irish laborer who cleans toilets in Finney's club, but over hears the plans of two London seedy types who discuss how to make sure Finney sells the Kit Kat Klub to Cosmo. After informing Finney of their intentions, Brendan's loyalty is rewarded by his elevation to a go-for babysitting a progressive jazz band, the Krakow Jazz Ensemble who need to be picked up at the airport for a weekend gig. While Brendan carts the band around town, he falls in love with Kate. During their time together, Kate and Brendan are jumped and beaten by the roughs who surround Cosmo. The drama is predictable until a surprise twist and unexpected negotiation change the dynamic, and saves the film.

The story line entwine to provide worthwhile entertainment for an hour and forty minutes, and the actors all provide solid performances. The soundtrack is a nice mix of 80s Brit sounds and cerebral jazz tunes with Sting doing a solo bass bit mid-film although he does not sing. Tommy Lee Jones is wonderful with an evil yet subtle humor to his business dealings and the sight of a young, buff and naked Sean Bean is delightful.

A good afternoon film for a rainy day, if only for the performances by actors not usually cast together, and for director, Mike Figgis, an underrated early film worth checking out.

I'm not sure if the screenwriter Figgis and the director Figgis ever met or were even in the same room together for any length of time for this movie. The script, scene-by-scene, is no great effort and does not deserve the intense and captivating directing job given to it.

I enjoyed the romance story - Melanie Griffith is not my favorite actress, but she didn't annoy me which is, I guess, saying something. Sean Bean is really good playing an understated "cleaning" guy, he works well with Sting's Sociopath-with-a-Heart.

The movie loses me with all the gangster stuff. There are major holes in the plot and character inconsistencies that we are supposed to believe are rich thug eccentricities, but it just doesn't fly. I enjoyed the America in England bit - a little depressing to see the kind of malling that has paved over large parts of the U.S. already. But the best scenes have to do with the Polish jazz band, a great bunch of guys whose artistic potential in this movie was never realized.

I just wish a lot more importance could have been given to character development, so that once the scene between Griffith and Bean on the roof comes along we can appreciate it more.

Brendan (Sean Bean) gets a job at a jazz club working for Finney (Sting) in England. Corrupt Texan businessman Francis Cosmo (Tommy Lee Jones) recruits escort Kate (Melanie Griffith) for a mysterious job. He arrives in town trying to buy up the area including the club. Brendan starts going out with Kate who is a waitress at a restaurant. Finney turns out to have a darker side with a criminal past.

The first half is a bit of a muddle keeping some central mysteries. It does go down some good dark noir alleys. There is plenty of jazzy brass music. It's rainy and moody. I guess the plot can be seen as a bit jazzy. These are interesting characters. I would like the story to be clearer.