Ciladas da Sorte

Any hostage drama can't help but get compared to 'Dog Day Afternoon' and will therefore be found lacking, but 'Albino Alligator', while not without a few flaws, does a credible job. Kevin Spacey shows some promise as a director, but the script sometimes let's him down. Even so it's pretty entertaining, and the best thing about it is the outstanding cast. You might think Spacey would call upon his Usual Suspects buddies but instead we have Matt Dillon, Gary Sinise and William Fichtner as criminals on the run, Faye Dunaway, M. Emmett Walsh, Skeet Ulrich, John Spencer and Viggo Mortensen as the occupants of an after hours bar they hold hostage, and Joe Mantegna as the cop on the scene. All the actors performances are good, but I especially enjoyed Fichtner's redneck sociopath and Mortensen's mysterious French Canadian who may not be the average joe he appears to be. Both actors have been favourites of mine for some time. 'Albino Alligator' is no masterpiece, but if you want to see some good actors do their thing I suggest you check it out, you won't be disappointed.

With so much talent aboard this could have been great cinema. That it's not is due to an unsure screenplay, lacking in credibility, though not lacking in promise. The story in itself, if tightened up, could have been riveting. But despite the actor's efforts, "Albino Alligator" fails to deliver the goods. By the end (which in itself is powerful), one has become a bit tired of it all.

Spacey was obviously drawn to the clear theatricality of much of the action taking place on one set, in effect on one stage. It's hence very talky and stagy, though Spacey is careful to keep the camera moving in interesting ways. The few outdoors scenes too are shot with great visual style. Combining a keen eye, together with his understanding of actors and acting, Spacey will probably at some point bring his directorial talents to fruition. Hopefully he will be more fortunate as far as a suitable screenplay is concerned.

Matt Dillon in the lead does a fair job. As is often the case with him, he manages some moments of excellence, but on the whole is capable rather than brilliant. (He sustained an exceptional performance is the "Saint of Fort Washington" and surprised many with "Drugstore Cowboy".). It's as if there is a depth to him which he seems to have a lot of trouble reaching. There is a brief scene in "Albino Alligator" in which he talks to himself in a facing mirror. It's a moment which reveals those depths which so often seem to elude him.

The other players do as well as one would expect. Gary Sinise is superb as Dillon's elder brother, William Fichtner is truly edgy and sinister and Faye Dunaway's bartender has a ring of truth to it.

Despite all this talent and a story with possibilities, this is not one to seek out.

Kevin Spacey's film debut impressed this viewer when this film debuted in 1996. On second viewing, recently, it still is an interesting film to watch, but it basically left a lot of questions unanswered because of the screen play Christian Forte wrote. One can see what attracted "Albino Alligator" to Mr. Spacey. It's a film where the situation that is created at the beginning of the film allows for intense performances by the first rate cast the director was able to put together. There are holes in the plot, like the enigmatic presence of Guy, the Canadian man one sees sitting at Dino's but whose role in the whole thing is not well explained by the screen play. Matt Dillon, as the man in charge of the bandits makes a good contribution. Faye Dunaway is excellent as Janet, the bar maid that must make tough decisions at the end of the film. William Fichtner is at his most intense playing Law, the loose cannon. Gary Sinise doesn't have much to do. The ensemble cast is good under Mr. Spacey's direction. John Spencer, Skeet Ulrich, M Emmet Walsh, Joe Mantegna, Melinda McGraw and Frankie Faison are effective in their roles. A film to be seen as a curiosity because it marks Kevin Spacey's film debut as a director.

As everyone already knows, Kevin Spacey is an extremely good actor who never does a bad job acting. The man is also a great singer (check out the soundtrack to "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"), so it's not a surprise that he turns out to be multitalented; he's obviously a great director as well. This is the first movie he has ever made and it is such an engrossing and interesting movie. The acting is also superb, Matt Dillon doing such a great job was a surprise to me. The story itself is also interesting, and I liked the fact that this movie was in many ways theatrical. It doesn't work in every movie, but with this premise it worked out fine. Let's hope Spacey directs many more movies!

In the past I have enjoyed a number of movies involving hostage taking, from "Dog Day Afternoon" to "The Negotiator". So I was pretty sure I would enjoy "Albino Alligator". While the movie is not without merit, overall I felt let down. I will say the movie is well made for a low budget, there is some good acting, and some humor in the movie is funny. But there are a number of problems. For one thing, none of the characters - hostage takers, the chief ATF agent, nor the hostages - are made to be colorful or compelling enough. And I found the central story to be surprisingly dull. There is little tension, the movie moves VERY slowly, and the movie resorts to using clichés found in other hostage movies instead of trying to put a new spin on things. While this isn't an awful movie, it is pretty flat, and you'd be better off instead rewatching those movies I mentioned in the first sentence of this review.