Movies with a moody feel to it

James Spader is a yuppie who works at a financial firm in L.A., Rob Lowe is a charismatic, dangerous drifter and psychopath who first gives Spader confidence but then corrupts him. Christian Clemenson is Spader's eccentric but loyal brother.

James Spader plays two characters, a medical student who works at a community clinic in L.A. (Echo Park neighborhood), and his black-sheep identical twin brother who has a criminal record, served in the military, and now manages a chain shoe store in L.A. The black-sheep turns out to be loyal to his brother, and the knowledge gained from his shady past becomes useful. The picture of Spader on this cover isn't very good and doesn't really reflect the nature or plot of the movie.

Joe Mantegna is a former Long Beach cop who left under a cloud and now runs a security alarm business with partner Xander Berkeley; Kelly Lynch and Naomi Watts are two sisters with a tragic past, living in Signal Hill, CA; Jon Favreau and Channon Roe are a high-strung tough guy and low-key junkie who help the sisters rob a drug dealer; the late character actor J.T. Walsh is a corrupt lieutenant in the LBPD. The score is by Ed Tomney.

There are a few levels of deception or double-cross, but basically Laurence Fishburne is a laid-off CIA operative who goes to work for a private "crisis management" firm (my euphemism) staffed by other ex-CIA personnel. Ellen Barkin is his immediate boss; Michael Beach (from the ER TV series) is his co-worker; Frank Langella is the head of the organization; David Ogden Stiers from MASH is a Washington state supreme court justice; Gia Carides is his mistress; and Daniel Hugh Kelly is a cardshark and all-around opportunist. Most of the characters are unsympathetic, and the movie has kind of a nihilistic ending, but it is interesting to watch. A drawback of the movie is that it is supposed to be set in Seattle, but it was apparently filmed in Vancouver, BC, and it really doesn't look like Seattle.