The Big Easy
Tags: neo noir, murder

Plot synopsis:
Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid) is a New Orleans police lieutenant who investigates the murder of a local mobster. His investigation leads him to suspect that fellow members of the police force may be involved.
Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin), a state district attorney, is sent to investigate alleged police corruption. After seeing firsthand some unorthodox practices by Remy, Anne accuses him of being on the take. He argues that she does not have an understanding of how the system works in New Orleans for police.
Despite Osborne's suspicious and apprehensive feelings towards him, they form a relationship. McSwain is caught accepting payoffs in an Internal Affairs sting, and Osborne has the burden of prosecuting him. With the assistance of fellow officers within the police force, the evidence is destroyed and suppressed. McSwain is cleared of the charges, at which point Anne, now clued in, is faced with the conflict of her personal feelings for Remy and her duty to uphold the law. It is later revealed that Jack Kellom (Ned Beatty), Remy's boss and the two detectives De Soto (John Goodman) and Dodge (Ebbe Roe Smith) are behind the murder, and a stash of heroin is hidden at a boat yard. Kellom goes to the boat and is confronted by De Soto and Dodge. Kellom suggests getting rid of the drugs, but De Soto shoots Kellom. Remy and Anne arrive and are confronted by De Soto and Dodge, and a shootout starts, resulting in De Soto being shot by a fatally wounded Kellom, and Dodge being shot with a flare gun by Remy, which starts a fire, and Remy and Anne make a run for it in the nick of time just before the boat explodes.
The final scene shows Remy dancing with Anne where it appears they had just been married.

Review: A good cop, who has allowed his principles to be compromised once too often, has it catch up with him amid allegations of internal corruption and what appears to be an impending war between the criminal elements of New Orleans, in 'The Big Easy,' directed by Jim McBride.
Dennis Quaid stars as Remy McSwain, an eleven year veteran of the New Orleans Police Department, who from the day he joined the force learned that the 'perks' that went along with the job were all just a natural, acceptable part of the way things are done in the city they call The Big Easy.
It's just the way it is; and all is well until Assistant District Attorney, Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin), shows up one day, and becomes inordinately concerned with a recent 'wise guy' murder Remy is investigating.
And it starts him off along a path which, before it's over, he may wish he hadn't opted to tread.From the opening credits, as McBride takes you aloft and opens up his camera for a thrilling shot of the bayous and countryside rushing by below (backed by the blood stirring zydeco music that drives the entire film), he saturates the story with an atmosphere that brings New Orleans to life.
The zydeco music, alone, is a treat and-- like the city-- is something of a character in itself.Quaid fairly oozes Southern charm as the irrepressible Remy, a guy secure with his world and sure of his place in it.
The character is a good fit for Quaid, and he definitely makes the most of it.Barkin does a good job, as well, as Anne, employing her trademark crooked smile to great effect, and she has a genuine chemistry with Quaid that works well for the story.
Out of the bedroom, they prove to be just as interesting as in (Remy's "gray" concept of right and wrong definitely adds to such interest, as does his "crisis of conscience" later on), and that is truly, IMHO, a rare feat for a lot of such films.Add in a great supporting cast (Ned Beatty's crooked, yet fatherly Jack Kellom, John Goodman's dirty cop André, Grace Zabriskie as Mrs. McSwain, Lisa Jane Persky as Det. McCabe, and many more) that actually lends more depth to what could have been a cut-and-dried shoot 'em up flick (mixed with some bed scenes for variety), as well as characters/actors who actually play off of each other well, and the film is very entertaining.Sure, the whole "gumbo, let's party, Cajun fest" thing can be a bit much, but I still found this film a whole bunch better than a lot of films made in the same or similar vein.
The Big Easy is a fairly straightforward thriller about police corruption - a little predictable, but with occasional clever touches - but the apparent chemistry between Quaid and Barkin is outstanding, making this one of the steamiest movies I've ever seen (much hotter than 9 1/2 weeks, and with the benefit of a plot and sympathetic characters).
Accents aside (I'm only an occasional visitor to New Orleans, and not qualified to judge), the other performances are also excellent, especially Beatty and Goodman as corrupt cops, and there are also some gut-bustingly funny moments and a wonderful soundtrack.
The Big Easy is directed by Jim McBride and written by Daniel Petrie Jr. It stars Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman and Ned Beatty.
Music is scored by Brad Fiedel and cinematography by Affonso Beato.Remy McSwain (Quaid) is a slightly corrupt New Orleans cop, who whilst investigating the murder of a mob man, finds himself under scrutiny by assistant district attorney Anne Osborne (Barkin).
The waters start to become muddied when the pair begin to have a passionate affair, just as the can opens and worms spill out everywhere.It's an odd film at times, a bit too jovial to be considered proper neo-noir, and Quaid's Southern accent takes some getting used too.
Petrie's script contains spiky dialogue and a number of bravura sequences light up the otherwise standard crooked cop story.McBride dose good work on this, he opens his film up with a cracker of a camera tracker, and he makes good use of the New Orleans locations.
He also has a good sense of prop choices to help the mood, none more so than with a scene involving Mardi Gras costumes, whilst he gets strength for the film by garnering tense and sexy performances out of Quaid and Barkin.
The story of the corruption in a big city police department is a staple of cop films but is done with a fresh set of characters who are believeable.
I don't know if this was filmed in New Orleans, but it sure looked like some of the city I visited years ago.
Gus Krinke (now retired) actually did a very credible job as portraying an Internal Affairs Detective.Yes, the 'accents' as portrayed here are unbelievable...many tourists are astonished to learn that most New Orleanians talk almost exactly like they're from Brooklyn, not some backwater swamp.I understand Quaid enjoyed himself in New Orleans while making this movie, and it clearly shows.
John Goodman liked the place so much he bought a home in the Crescent City.Quaid and Barkin definitely put some spice in their roles...their chemistry was apparent and believable (unlike Quaid's accent), and their romance was really the only thing believable in this 'police movie'.
Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin star in "The Big Easy," a 1986 film set in New Orleans, and also starring Ned Beatty, John Goodman, and Grace Zabriskie.I know an attorney who won a huge civil rights case in New Orleans and then had to run for her life with her family when her life was continuously threatened.
The assigned assistant district attorney, Anne Osborne (Barkin) assumes from the get-go, because of the presence of a cop car at one of the murders, that the police are involved.That's the background for a hot love affair between these two sexy characters who really steam up the screen.
To its credit, it provides a little humor to offset the ugliness.It also provides the standard sex scenes, this one featuring Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin; the seedy New Orleans atmosphere and the standard cops-are- crooked angle.
The ending of the film is a little hokey but overall, the story was interesting and I gave it two looks over the years, liking it better the second time..
Dennis Quaid plays cocky New Orleans detective Remy McSwain, a swaggering smooth talker who's gotten wealthy taking payoffs, a dude whose silky charm matches his swanky suits.
Even the one good cop has dirty hands.The setting is New Orleans before the danger waters nearly destroyed the heart and soul of the Big Easy.
Quaid plays a New Orleans policeman, Det. Remy McSwain, who is in the midst of investigating the murder of a wise guy.
Set and filmed in New Orleanes this is an exciting fast paced action with a lil romance and funny stuff thrown in..along with some down home corruption A good date movie.The women will love Quaid and the guys have BarkinOn a scale of 1 to 10 Big easy rates a 8.
Unlike Mr Soderburgh's highly over-rated Out Of Sight, which was surrounded by a great bally-hoo about it's steamy love scenes, which weren't quite convincing to most of us watching, Big Easy actually delivers the goods.
I always wanted to visit New Orleans and The Big Easy, "where they do things differently" and its Cajun music are the stars of the movie.
Two hot and talented actors (Dennis Quaid at his sexiest) as Det. Remy McSwain, of New Orleans Homicide and criminally underrated Ellen Barkin (Ann Osborne, a beautiful attorney from the D.A.'s office investigating corruption charges against Remy) are incredibly believable in their erotic scenes that make the film deservingly famous.
THE BIG EASY (1986) *** Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, Ned Beatty, John Goodman, Lisa Jane Persky, Ebbe Rose Smith, Grace Zabriskie, Charles Ludlam, Marc Lawrence.
Sexy and charming Quaid is on-the-take Bayou cop Remy McSwain trying to fool investigating DA Barkin while falling in love with her amidst corruption, murder and greed in seamy New Orleans.
Remy Mc Swain (Dennis Quaid) works for the New Orleans police force, where cops and natives alike refer to their town as the "big easy".
Nevertheless, the corruption is so rampant that a new district attorney, Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin) arrives in town to "clean up" the force and find out the truth about police involvement in an alleged gang war.
The Bayou comes alive with Wiseguy bullets and romantic sparks in this occasionally smoldering romantic thriller, starring Dennis Quaid as a less than scrupulous New Orleans detective investigating a series of local Mafia murders, while having both his conscience and his libido aroused by sultry District Attorney Ellen Barkin.
Dennis Quaid leads the investigation of the murders, while Ellen Barkin is the assistant district attorney looking into police corruption.
While people from New Orleans have described the movie as totally unrealistic, those of us who've known it only as tourists will greatly enjoy the Cajun flavoring.Wish I could give you the plot twists and turns that complicate the relationship between Quaid's policeman and Barkin's prosecutor but, trust me, it's a serviceable script and the stars are well aligned in more ways than one..
She also warrants the old-fashioned, now passé adjectives - used in the 1940's for, say, Hayworth and Turner - like "sultry" or "sensual."Ned Beatty alway delivers an outstanding performance, and John Goodman and all the remaining cast were excellent, as well.Further, the New Orleans setting added to the film's dimension, and presents a nostalgic "pre-Katrina" view when seen today.Finally, the story was well-presented, and had interesting multiple dimensions, and from beginning to climax was thoroughly well-done.An overall outstanding picture..
His "little boy" looks fit right in with the role of a cop in the Big Easy.Ellen Barkin is also perfect for the role of special prosecutor Anne Osborne, looking for corruption in the police department - as if you have to look hard.
They all add to the charm of New Orleans along with great music by Beausoleil, the Dixie Cups, the Neville Brothers, Dewey Balfa and Dennis Quaid himself.This is a movie that tastes just as sweet as the city and one to visit over and over..
I never did understand why Dennis Quade, Ellen Barkin and Jim McBride didn't rule Hollywood completely thereafter on the strength of this one (very able support by John Goodman, Ned Beatty, et all, too), but there we go, i believe that the perceived wisdom (at least in the UK, and probably the same in the US) is that people confused the title with the rather lesser film The Big Town (Matt Dillon), released at the same time.This is probably my favourite film, marred only by the fact that the DVD versions have all (to my knowledge) omitted the final reconciliation scene where Barkin tells Quaid that he is one of the good guys, after all.
While this movie has a fairly interesting story line, and some very good music, I couldn't get past the worst imitation of Cajun accents you will ever encounter on film.
This at times morally ambivalent movie is remarkable for the sizzling screen chemistry between local cop Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid) and his would-be nemesis Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin).
It's as if the writers couldn't decide if they wanted a thriller, a love story, or a comedy, so they settled for a mishmash of all of the above.Further, no matter what a jerk Remy is, or what secrets he may be hiding, Anne is easily taken in by him, providing the romantic angle, but suggesting a weak-willed woman who lets her personal attraction to a man interfere with her professional work as a detective.The film's plot clichés are typical for a 1980s film, including obligatory sex scenes, explosions, several plot points, and locale stereotypes with exaggerated Cajun accents.
Jim McBride's film 'The Big Easy' is an essentially light-hearted crime thriller that integrates elements of romantic comedy with an exaggerated portrayal of life in New Orleans.
Whether you like this movie probably depends on what you think of its leads: Dennis Quaid's cocky policeman and Ellen Barkin's very 1980s lawyer.
Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid) is a New Orleans police lieutenant investigating the murder of a mob wise guy as one of his new cases.
This is a movie about Barkin getting her sexy on in the Big Easy with Quaid.
Dennis Quaid , and Ellen Barkin star in this crime drama set in New Orleans, John Goodman also does a good job in here as well in a supporting role..
Hot-shot, and wise guy himself, NOPD Det.Remy McSwain, Dennis Quaid, is quickly on the scene and takes charge of the murder investigation.
Decent police drama if you overlook the weird performance by Dennis Quaid as Det. Remy McSwain who's ridicules Cajun accent seems to break up in mid sentence like a bad case of static interference on your radio receiver.
Not only does Dennis Quaid, have his accent and charisma down for the role he is about to wow us with throughout the entire film, but we are also led to believe that the entire movie will be a real shoot-'em up, cops and robbers type of piece.
Watching it made me remember a crazy time when Dennis Quaid was in demand making flicks like Inner Space (c'mon you know you loved that one).The movie deals mostly with the relationship between Quaid and Barkin and very little details on the crime investigation are revealed.
It is not often you see all the elements of a good movie together:script well written, director who knows how to create an atmosphere, lead actors who are well cast and bring their characters to life (I thought Dennis Quaid's New Orleans accent was excellent),music that adds to the film,and shot just about as good as it could be.
Although I didn't meet anybody in New Orleans who talked like Dennis Quaid did in this movie, and his portrayal of Rennie McSwain came off as something of a caricature, I still found him extremely enjoyable to watch and as a leading man, he was as sexy as a romantic hero can be.
The movie is mostly about the Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin romance.
The movie just perhaps didn't had the greatest casting.Dennis Quaid seems to pick up and drop his New Orleans accent randomly.
Det. Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid) is a New Orleans cop investigating the seemingly routine death of a wise guy, he is surprised by the amount of interest being shown by the new District Attorney Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin).
From reading many of the other comments from New Orleanians it would seem that "The Big Easy" is as remote from real life as my imagined version.Well,that may be so,but I don't have to believe it if I don't to.I want to believe that the NOPD has detectives as smart and charming as Denis Quaid.That a clever and ambitious A.D.A like Ellen Barkin would have sex with a corrupt cop she's investigating,that she could be kidnapped off the street by an officer in a prowl car,driven to the corrupt cop's house,forced to dance with him then accept his proposal of marriage.So I shall.
It's actually a pretty good romantic comedy with a little extra dash of violence.Unsurprisingly set in New Orleans, the star of this story is Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid), a police lieutenant in the homicide division.
He's called in to investigate the murder of a local wise guy and is joined on the case by a new assistant district attorney, Ann Osborn (Ellen Barkin), who's assigned to police corruption cases but is very interested in this mob slaying.
To get the girl back, Remy has to actually become the good guy he's always imagined himself to be and then the two of them have to uncover who's really behind these killings and why.Some people might quibble with me calling The Big Easy a romantic comedy, but there's way too many jokes and funny performances in this film to consider it a drama.
The whole notion of New Orleans being a place where life is lived at a relaxed pace and where pay-offs are the norm is conveyed in a way which seems totally authentic and interestingly, this culture appears to be equally prevalent in both the criminal and the law enforcement fraternities.Homicide detective Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid) is conducting an investigation into a series of murders where local mobsters have been the victims when Assistant D.A. Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin) arrives on the scene to carry out her own investigation into alleged police corruption.
During the course of the story, Remy gradually starts to recognise why she sees things the way she does.Dennis Quaid is terrific as a character who like the movie itself is bright and breezy, charming and very good humoured.
Admittedly, I have only been to New Orleans twice in my 62 years but to all who know her she is one(or at least was before Katrina) of the five best cities in the US.But to the movie: the acting, the script and the settings were exemplary; working with the subject of bent cops is not an easy one, so the producers should feel special for having even tried it.
Ellen Barkin as the DA is sexy and competent.The movie makes use of its New Orleans locations but doesn't revel in them.
Yah it's just a movie.What works--great background music, on-site filming, nice turns by Beatty and Persky, fun to see John Goodman as the baddie-no red herring there, pre-Roseanne even-and of course, the performances by Quaid and Barkin are indeed very good.
Basically in New Orleans, lieutenant in Homicide, Det. Remy McSwain (Dennis Quaid) is investigating a series of gang killings in he city, and at the same time being followed by beautiful attorney Anne Osborne (Ellen Barkin).