Un faux mouvement

stumbled on this while scrolling through fearnet on demand. Its not a horror but a well-paced action-thriller about ruthless drug dealers traveling across country from LA to Arkansas. Billybob Thornton is riveting as the unpredictable, volatile crackhead while Bill Paxton is the easy going country boy-made -good sheriff who has never had to use his gun before and gets a thrill out of helping out the LA fuzz apprehend Thornton and his accomplices. Throw in a prior "relationship/paternity situation" between Paxton and Thornton's girlfriend/moll and this ends up being far superior to your average cops and robbers showdown. It had a great 90's feel to it with the complete absence of modern devices like cell phones, everyone puffing away on cigarettes like there was no tomorrow and some very un-PC language and references. In these sort of movies, endings usually disappoint but I felt this tied up everything perfectly and there was no over-dramatization which is what the director sometimes feels like he has to do.

I watched this film in 1991 and I still think about it frequently. It has become a standard to compare other films. The violence at the beginning made me uncomfortable, and I almost turned it off. I am glad that I didn't, because I would have missed one of the best films of the decade. The movie's pace and tone are perfectly natural - not artificial in any way. I like the scene in the diner best. The two LA cops are joking with each other about the backward local sheriff (Paxton), and they didn't know he was standing there. The awkwardness of the moment encapsulated the film.

I think One False Move, Fargo, and The Sweet Herafter are a great trilogy of movie making at its best. All set in small - real towns with real people.

This modern film noir pits three violent criminals on the run from a violent drug rip-off against two LA cops aided by a rural sheriff. The trio of bad-guy consists of a white-trash loser (Thornton), his African-American girlfriend (Williams), and their high-IQ, sociopath friend (Beach) also black. After committing multiple murders in California they high-tail to Thornton's and Williams' hometown of Star, Arkansas to lay-low. Their journey across the backroads of Texas is fraught with danger, (it's not like they don't stand out) and unbeknownst to them, the cops are waiting....

Very well done without the "look at me I'm so realistic" dialogue too often found in this much copied genre. One of the best of its kind, well worth the rental.

Bad language and violence aside, this is one of the best movies of the 90's! This is actually, a lighthearted police drama with many surprises. One of the surprises is the depiction of small town Arkansas. They may have finally gotten it right! It is slower, safer and more relaxing in comparison to the life that the cops from L.A. have and there isn't any stereotyping that I could find! Another surprise is the performance by Billy Bob. He may be one of the most evil drug dealers I have ever seen on the big screen.

A word of caution though. This movie, at least in my opinion, has one of the most violent (not overly graphic, but sadistic) openings to a movie I have seen in a film. The way the murders and tortures are committed are a little hard to watch. But if you get past that, the movie settles down a lot and you really want to see the "bad guys" get what's coming to them! And the language is extremely rough. I saw the movie again on BRAVO and while there is a lot of silent moments, where they cut out the language, nothing else is cut from the film. A remarkable film.

I give this film an A-.

In Los Angeles, after a violent drug rip-off, the Los Angeles Police Department detectives find the identity of the trio – the sadistic I.Q. of 150 and college graduate Lenny "Pluto" Franklyn (Michael Beach); his not so bright buddy in San Quentin Ray Malcolm (Billy Bob Thornton); and his girlfriend Fantasia (Cynda Williams). Their further investigation indicates that the criminals are fleeing to Star City, Arkanas, and LAPD detective Dud Cole (Jim Metzler) and his partner John McFeely (Earl Billings) contact the local Chief of Police Dale 'Hurricane' Dixon (Bill Paxton) and they head to the little town. The yokel family man Dale, who is used to resolve domestic issues, is fascinated with the chance to participate of a manhunt and befriends the two detectives. But when he sees the picture of Fantasia, he recognizes her as Lila Walker and is haunted by his past, hiding a secret about Lila Walker.

"One False Move" is a little gem from the 90's and one of the best in the genre neo-noir. The first time I saw this film was on VHS in the early 90's, but now I have the chance of buying the DVD and watching it again. The dramatic story written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson is engaging and without redemption. Cynda Williams, in her second film, is awesome but Bill Paxton "steals" the film in the role of a bragger hillbilly and chief of police that sees the chance of his life of arresting real criminals but meets his past instead. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Um Passo em Falso" ("One False Step")