Clay Pigeons (1998)

Clay (as in the title) is a young man in a small town who witnesses his friend kill himself because of the ongoing affair that Clay was having with the man's wife. Feeling guilty, Clay now ... See full summary »

Director:

David Dobkin

Writer:

Matthew L. Healy

Stars:

Joaquin Phoenix, Gregory Sporleder, Vince Vaughn

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Clay Bidwell
Gregory Sporleder	...	Earl
Georgina Cates	...	Amanda
Scott Wilson	...	Sheriff Dan Mooney
Vince Vieluf	...	Deputy Barney
Wayne Brennan	...	Minister
Joseph D. Reitman	...	Glen
Vince Vaughn	...	Lester Long
Nicole Arlyn	...	Gloria Collins (as Nikki Arlyn)
Jeff Olson	...	Mark
Monica Moench	...	Kimberly
Kevin Rahm	...	Bystander at Amanda's
Jesse Bennett	...	Dr. Jaffe
Phil Morris	...	Agent Reynard
Janeane Garofalo	...	Agent Dale Shelby

Storyline

Clay (as in the title) is a young man in a small town who witnesses his friend kill himself because of the ongoing affair that Clay was having with the man's wife. Feeling guilty, Clay now resists the widow when she presses him to continue with their sexual affairs. Into this comes a serial killer who befriends Clay, even to murdering the nagging widow for him... but certainly not at Clay's request. But that doesn't matter for the police, as well as for a savvy female FBI agent who sees Clay as their prime suspect. Yet Clay doesn't tell them of his 'friend' who admits to him of his serial killings, primarily because Clay sees himself as somewhat of an accomplice, in that he seems to have introduced to the killer each young woman that is killed... in fact, the sheriff comments that he wishes Clay would quit finding the murdered victims, which he always seems to do. But at last Clay is able to turn from being the pigeon... to giving the film its very unpredictable conclusion.

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Plot Keywords:

widow | fbi | serial killer | small town | nude woman murdered | 

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Taglines:

Lester Long never forgets a friend

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong scenes of sexuality, language and violence

Details

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

In Too Deep

Filming Locations:

Brigham City, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$167,364 (USA) (25 September 1998)

Gross:

$1,789,892 (USA) (13 November 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fade In Films, IMF Internationale Medien und Film GmbH & Co. Produktions KG, Intermedia Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White (one scene)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

FBI Agent Dale Shelby and her partner, Agent Renard, have names that may be loosely derived from The X-Files characters Dana Scully and Fox Mulder. "Renard" is French for "fox."

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Goofs

When Clay pushes the truck with the dead guy in it over the cliff, the truck eventually explodes in a huge fireball. But later, when we cut back to the police investigating the incident, the truck is not charred by fire at all.

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Quotes

Lester: Don't you get sassy, goddamn it.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the closing credits Lester Long says "You gotta good sense of humor, I like that" and does his bizarre laugh.

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Connections

References The Andy Griffith Show (1960)

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Soundtracks

"I Got Stung"
Written by Aaron Schroder and David Hill
Performed by Elvis Presley
Courtesy of RCA Records

User Reviews

Dark Humor Drives Engrossing Story

In a small town out west, a target practice outing with a friend kicks off a chain of bizarre events that lead a man to involvement with murder and an unsolicited alliance with a person of, shall we say, `questionable' character in `Clay Pigeons,' directed by David Dobkin. Joaquin Phoenix is Clay Birdwell, a regular guy whose lack of judgment and discretion catches up with him unexpectedly in this dark, maddening tale of morality and fate that is sometimes morose and disturbing, at other times darkly humorous, as it deftly examines the trappings of the tangled webs we humans weave. Clay has become mired in a moral dilemma from which there seems to be no escape, when he meets and is befriended by Lester Long (Vince Vaughn), a trucker passing through town one night. At a local bar, Lester observes that Clay doesn't exactly have a way with women; it gets Lester's attention, which leads to a game of pool and, later on, a casual fishing trip that, like the target practice outing, proves to be a life-altering experience for Clay. Phoenix is perfectly cast as Clay, ably conveying the effects of the dark quagmire into which he is cast by circumstances he is unable to control. His performance enables you to feel him sinking ever deeper as the story moves along, and to empathize with him and experience what he is going through. You realize that he understands his situation, and it becomes a matter of waiting to see if he will make the right decisions, regardless of the inevitable consequences. It creates a tension that makes you want to yell at the screen to tell him what to do. Vaughn is excellent as well as the cowboy trucker with the winning smile, robust laugh and a closet full of dark secrets. There's a menace behind the good-natured facade he puts on that becomes more pronounced as the events unfold. Pretty early on you know what this guy is all about, but somehow it only enhances the anxiety of the whole situation as it becomes a cat-and mouse game (with some unexpected twists) between Clay and Lester. Another notable performance comes from the charismatic Janeane Garofalo, who is surprisingly effective and credible as F.B.I. agent Dale Shelby, who comes to town when things take a turn and begin to heat up. It's a credit to her talent and versatility that she can pull this character off so well. The supporting cast includes Georgina Cates (Amanda), Scott Wilson (Sheriff Mooney), Vince Vieluf (Deputy Barney), and Monica Moench (Kimberly). There are moments in this movie that absolutely make you want to tear your hair out, a credit to the way Dobkin put this project together and delivered it. `Clay Pigeons' is a nail-biter that will keep you going right up to the end (which is terrific); Clay and Lester are characters you're going to remember, and just to make sure there's a brief, inspired reminder at the end of the credits (so stay with it all the way). Relatively overlooked during it's original release, this film should gain new life on video, and deservedly so; this is one you'll be glad you took a look at. I rate this one 9/10.