One False Move (1992)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Carl Franklin

Writers (WGA):

Billy Bob Thornton (written by) &
Tom Epperson (written by)

Release Date:

8 May 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

All it takes to bring him down is one bullet... one woman or... One False Move.

Plot:

With the assistance of two Los Angeles Police Department detectives, Star City, Arkansas Police Chief...

Plot Keywords:

Arkansas | Small Town | Police | Road | Neo Noir

Awards:

6 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Bill Paxton	...	Chief Dale 'Hurricane' Dixon
Cynda Williams	...	Lila 'Fantasia' Walker
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Ray Malcolm
Michael Beach	...	Wade 'Pluto' Franklin
Jim Metzler	...	Lt. Dudley 'Dud' Cole
Earl Billings	...	Det. John McFeely
Natalie Canerday	...	Cheryl Ann Dixon
Robert Ginnaven	...	Deputy Charlie
Robert Anthony Bell	...	Byron Walker
Kevin Hunter	...	Ronnie Walker
Phyllis Kirklin	...	Mrs. Walker
Meredith 'Jeta' Donovan	...	Bonnie Dixon
Jimmy Bridges	...	Bobby Post (as James D. Bridges)
Phyllis Sutton	...	Jackie
Derrick Williams	...	Darren

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:R | Germany:16 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Canada:R

Filming Locations:

Cotton Plant, Arkansas, USA

Company:

IRS Media

Trivia:

When the film was completed, the original plan was to release it straight to video. Stronger than expected word of mouth convinced the distributor to send it to theaters. The late critic Gene Siskel voted this film as his favorite of 1992.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Fantasia is shot in the head, the "bullet hole" can be seen a fraction of a second before the shot is heard.

Quotes:

Cheryl Ann: He don't know no better, he watches television. I read non-fiction.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

A neglected gem

Three criminals pull off a cash and drug heist in LA, which results in the sadistic and brutal murders of six people. The crooks are Fantasia (Cynda Williams), a bad girl with a soft spot. She got pregnant in her teens and got talked into the robbery by her boyfriend Ray Malcolm (Billy Bob Thornton) who is a paranoid and violent psychotic. Yet throughout the course of events, Fantasia wants to go back home to Star City and see her little boy (something that ultimately contributes to her downfall). The third member of the gang is Pluto (Michael Beach), a would be intellectual crime boss whose personality varies between being a cold and sadistic killer with a passion for knives and a cool calm and collected crook who won't kill unless he has to. Having pulled off the job they decide to make for Phoenix Arizona in order to sale the drugs and split the money. However, things are complicated by Fantasia wanting to go home and more blood is shed along the way.

ONE FALSE MOVE is a neglected gem. It marked the feature-film debut of American director Carl Franklin who takes a run-of-the-mill cops and robbers yarn and wisely places the emphasis on character. He is most ably assisted in this by a largely unknown but solid cast who give their director maximum effort in every scene. Williams, Thornton (who also co-wrote the script) and Beach are excellent as the three gangsters while Bill Paxton is also excellent as Hurricane the Star City cop entrusted with the task of helping the LA police track the gang down. The film got a very poor release at the time and it was even denied the film a screening at the Sundance Film Festival and it was dismissed as too violent. The film starts off quite violently but once it gets going the emphasis is on good old fashioned character study, but because of it's failure to reach the Sundance festival it wasn't picked up by a major distributor and it more or less went straight to video. Director Carl Franklin has done very little since apart from DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS with Denzel Washington, a crime thriller that was well received by the critics but didn't take on with the public. Billy Bob Thornton, however, has since become an international star appearing in such modern classics as A SIMPLE PLAN (1999) and the Coen Brothers' sublime black and white noir film THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE (2001).