Product: The Big Town [VHS] (1987)
Rating: 4.0
Interesting Sleeper
"The Big Town" doesn't break any cinematic ground but it's more than worth your while. How can you go wrong with a film that sports two Oscar winners(Tommy Lee Jones, Lee Grant) and three nominees(Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Bruce Dern) in the cast? Director Ben Bolt imbues the film with terrific period atmosphere and the selection of rock, rhythm and blues, and country and western music is impeccable. The film has a gritty sensiblity reminiscent of classic film noir. Dillon is fine as the kid from Indiana with a knack for dice rolling who seeks his fame and fortune in the seedy backrooms of Chicago. It's Jones, however, who steals the picture in an understated turn as the film's ostensible villain. Jones doesn't have to say a word. Just a squint of his eyes and a look at his craggy visage says it all. Good character turns from vets Grant and Dern as the couple who bankroll Dillon's endeavors. The two women in Dillon's life, Lane's exotic dancer and Suzy Amis' aspiring DJ are kind of underwritten. These two are kind of cliched in representing the good girl/bad girl dichotomy. The promised showdown between Dillon and Jones is kind of a fizzle. Another disappointment is Lane's less than erotic fan dance.