Payback (1999/I)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Brian Helgeland

Writers:

Donald E. Westlake (novel)
Brian Helgeland (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 February 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

No More Mr. Nice Guy

Plot:

Porter is shot by his wife and best friend and is left to die. When he survives he plots revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Money | Revenge | Robbery | Criminal | Prostitute

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Porter
Gregg Henry	...	Val Resnick
Maria Bello	...	Rosie
David Paymer	...	Arthur Stegman
Bill Duke	...	Det. Hicks
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Mrs. Lynn Porter
John Glover	...	Phil
William Devane	...	Carter
Lucy Liu	...	Pearl (as Lucy Alexis Liu)
Jack Conley	...	Det. Leary
Kris Kristofferson	...	Bronson
Mark Alfa	...	Johnny's Friend #2
Kwame Amoaku	...	Radioman
Justin Ashforth	...	Michael, Bartender #1
Len Bajenski	...	Fairfax Bodyguard #1

Also Known As:

Porter (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language, and drug and sexual content.

Runtime:

100 min | USA:90 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #36313) | New Zealand:R18 | Iceland:16 | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Philippines:R-18 | Hungary:18 | Italy:VM18 (tv rating) | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 (cut) | Canada:16+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Icon Entertainment International

Trivia:

One major addition to the movie after Brian Helgeland left included 'Kris Kristofferson''s character of the main villain. The re-shoots resulted in a delay of almost one year, because Mel Gibson was committed to Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) right after principal photography ended.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Val meets Stegman at Varrick's, Stegman is shown sipping his beer but never really takes a drink.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Porter: [voiceover] GSW: that's what the hospitals call it: gunshot wound. Doctor has to report it to the police. That makes it hard for guys in my line to get what I call, quality health care.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "My Name Is Earl: Two Balls, Two Strikes (#2.20)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You

Payback - Great movie in the "film noir" genre

Payback directed by Brian Helgeland is a classic "film noir" following the tradition of urban "gangster movies" and Mel Gibson is giving an outstanding performance as Porter - the bad guy who is only slightly better than the rest of the gangsters, hoodlums, crooks and scoundrels to be met in the film.

"Payback" is a great movie in this genre. Donald E. Westlake, who has written the novel on which the film is based, has picked up the thread of Raymond Chandler and Dashiel Hammett to create an authentic universe with "real" characters, and Brian Helgeland has succeeded to bring this universe to the screen.

Everything about this movie is great - the storyboard, the cast, the direction and the soundtrack. This film bears resemblance to Sergio Leone's "The Good, the Bad & the Ugly" and if you have seen "the Maltese Falcon" starring Bogart, you should definitely see "Payback".