Flesh and Bone (1993)

Director:

Steve Kloves

Writer (WGA):

Steve Kloves (written by)

Release Date:

5 November 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

Evil is patient

Plot:

Some thirty years after Arlis witnesses his father murdering a family, he runs into Kay, who happens to be the family's baby who was spared...

Plot Keywords:

Baby | Gun | Stealing From Dead Body | Offscreen Child Murder | Texas

Cast

Julia McNeal	...	Sarah Willets (as Julia Mueller)
Ron Kuhlman	...	Clem Willets
Jerry Swindall	...	Young Arlis
Ryan Bohls	...	Scotty Willets
James Caan	...	Roy Sweeney
Dennis Quaid	...	Arlis Sweeney
Ez Perez	...	Boy in Suit
Craig Erickson	...	Tiny Ted
Barbara Alyn Woods	...	Cindy
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Ginnie
Joe Berryman	...	Plump Man
Meg Ryan	...	Kay Davies
Scott Wilson	...	Elliot
James N. Harrell	...	Woody
Gerardo Johnson	...	Juan

Runtime:

126 min | Germany:116 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | France:U | Spain:18 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Mirage

Trivia:

The murders at the beginning of the film evoke the 1959 murders of Kansas farmer Herb Clutter, his wife and their two teenage children. This case was later documented in Truman Capote's book "In Cold Blood", which in turn was made into a film (In Cold Blood (1967)) starring Scott Wilson and Robert Blake as the two killers. Wilson appears in this film in the role of Arliss' employee.

Goofs:

Continuity: In a scene where Kay holds a revolver a bullet inside the cylinder appears, disappears and then reappears.

Quotes:

Kay: I figure the bed's one of those vibratin' numbers, so that explains all the quarters. Nobody could possibly fancy pretzel twists that much so I reckon you won some kinda weird contest. As for the condoms, well, either you got a yen for cheerleadin' squads or we had the night of all nights, whatever, there's an explanation. As for the blue chicken, I need a little help with that one.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Game K N B: (2007-03-03)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Lilita

An underrated classic

Perhaps some people only want to see Meg Ryan in romantic comedies, or perhaps IMDb voters give this a low average rating because 'nothing happens', but look beneath the surface and you will find a dark and haunting drama of the first order, with the best work from all involved for many years before or since.

Steve Kloves, completely 'miscast' as the adaptive screenwriter for the Harry Potter films (he writes in American, for heaven's sake) here produces a great original work as a writer/director, utilizing some amazing visuals from Phillipe Rousselot (d.o.p.) and music from Thomas Newman (a score suitably subtle, haunting and moving). Caan, Ryan and a pre-fame Gwyneth Paltrow are all on top form but the real star here is Dennis Quaid, whose face, a canvas of tortured memories and struggling decency, says more than Kloves could ever hope to write. As director he chooses wisely; he gives Quaid a single line, then keeps the camera rolling.