Kiss of Death (1995/I)

Director:

Barbet Schroeder

Writers (WGA):

Eleazar Lipsky (story)
Ben Hecht (1947 screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 April 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Little Junor Brown. He rules the streets. He owns the game. But he doesn't own all of the players.

Plot:

A reformed convict goes undercover with the help of an angry detective to ensnare a psychotic mobster.

Plot Keywords:

Strip Club | Queens New York City | Undercover Operation | New York City | District Attorney

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

David Caruso	...	Jimmy Kilmartin
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Calvin Hart
Nicolas Cage	...	Little Junior Brown
Helen Hunt	...	Bev Kilmartin
Kathryn Erbe	...	Rosie Kilmartin
Stanley Tucci	...	Frank Zioli
Michael Rapaport	...	Ronnie Gannon
Ving Rhames	...	Omar
Philip Baker Hall	...	Big Junior Brown
Anthony Heald	...	Jack Gold
Angel David	...	J.J.
John Costelloe	...	Cleary
Lindsay J. Wrinn	...	Corinna as a Toddler
Megan L. Wrinn	...	Corinna as a Toddler
Katie Sagona	...	Corinna, 4 Years Old

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R (certificate #33340) | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 (w) | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The club featured in the film was actually a small business office building next to McDonalds in Queens, New York, that was completely converted to the look in the film by production designer Mel Bourne. It is now abandoned and remains unused in any capacity to this day.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Rolls-Royce being torched at the salvage yard has a perimeter frame; genuine Rolls-Royce Silver Shadows are unibody vehicles.

Quotes:

[at a bar]
Little Junior Brown: See me tomorrow and we'll discuss things.
[goes back to enjoy his drink]
Jimmy Kilmartin: Wait a minute. Why not now?
Little Junior Brown: I haven't been able to find my daughter in a while, and I've already planned the night grieving about it, so you'll just have to see me tomorrow.
Jimmy Kilmartin: No, You see me now.
[takes a tiny gun out]
Jimmy Kilmartin: Tell me now! Go on! I want to hear it.
Little Junior Brown: I ain't going back to jail. I'm tired. They didn't allow me to use silverware. I had to use my fingers. That's right, they didn't even allow me to use plastic spoons, forks, and knives! But I do hate the taste of metal in my mouth. That's why I refused to have braces.
Jimmy Kilmartin: [puts gun on Brown's lip] Tell me what I want to know, or you'll never have a lip again.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Features The Driver (1978)

Soundtrack:

Salutations

Solid crime thriller

Ex-con Jimmy Kilmartin agrees to drive a truck of stolen cars as a favour to a friend. Whilst on the job he gets caught but refuses to role over on the others involved. Whilst in prison his wife is killed in a car crash and Jimmy leaves prison, bitter but with a determination to move on. However NYPD officer Calvin wants to use Kilmartin to get close to Little Junior Brown and get evidence to shut him down.

This was one of several vehicles that was planned to turn David Caruso from a TV hit to a big screen star - as we know, it didn't work out that way. However the story is pretty solid, it doesn't break new ground and there's nothing outside of the usual crime thriller plot to surprise you but it's really quite good. At times it's a little dull because it is so straight forward but it's mostly entertaining.

Caruso, for all his current lack of success, is actually very good. The problem is that he's good by doing the same "NY Irish tough but fair" role that he did in NYPD Blue, King of New York, Bodycount and most films he's done! It's good but I don't think he can do anything else. Jackson has presence as he always does and the support cast is really well filled out with people like Helen Hunt, Stanley Tucci, Rapaport, Philip Baker Hall, Ving Rhames. Nicolas Cage's Little Junior is a mixed bag. At some points he is effective but for the most part he's horribly OTT and hammy. His character is full of ticks and eccentricities that at the end of the day that's all Cage has to do.

Overall this is a solid thriller with no surprises. Caruso fans (like me) will like it regardless because it's Caruso doing his usual role. But others may not be so easily made to overlook the weaknesses.