and The King of Marvin Gardens
. Rafelson has said that this film, acts an unofficial finale to a trilogy started with the above.
Alex Gates, a dark and increasingly haggard Jack Nicholson, is a well to do wine merchant, whose business and marriage are quickly floundering in the Miami sunshine. His prescription drug addicted wife is resentful and suspicious of where he spends his nights, quite rightly too as it turns out. His step-son, a very young Stephen Dorff, has little but contempt for him. Meanwhile he is plotting with an ageing terminally ill Michael Caine to steal a million dollar diamond from a wealthy client. Add to this maelstrom, Jennifer Lopez as a scheming Cuban immigrant and you have a classic film noir setup.
Caine and Nicholson play well off each other, playing grotesque versions of themselves. Caine is excellent as old con getting more desperate as he gets closer to his reckoning. Nicholson is equally adept as a man reaching the end of his tether, largely due to his own mistakes. If there is one problem with all this, its that none of the characters are particularly likeable, and consequently you don't find yourself rooting for anyone as the double and triple crosses take hold as we head toward a denouement. Only Dorff comes out with any credit, as the strangely sullen son, who has no apparent interest in the wealth the diamond might bring.
Jennifer Lopez, deserves credit for making more of a role that otherwise would have faded into the background. Ultimately the film leads to a dissatisfying ending for all concerned but its interesting all the same, for the interplay between Nicholson & Caine, who have never worked together before. Like all film noir you get dragged into the tale and want to see where it goes, this one doesn't go where you want it.
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