The Way of the Gun (2000)

Two criminal drifters without sympathy get more than they bargained for after kidnapping and holding for ransom the surrogate mother of a powerful and shady man.

Director:

Christopher McQuarrie

Writer:

Christopher McQuarrie

Stars:

Ryan Phillippe, Benicio Del Toro, Juliette Lewis

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan Phillippe	...	Mr. Parker
Benicio Del Toro	...	Mr. Longbaugh
Juliette Lewis	...	Robin
Taye Diggs	...	Jeffers
Nicky Katt	...	Obecks
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Abner Mercer
Dylan Kussman	...	Dr. Allen Painter
Scott Wilson	...	Hale Chidduck
Kristin Lehman	...	Francesca Chidduck
James Caan	...	Joe Sarno
Henry Griffin	...	P. Whipped
Armando Guerrero	...	Federale #1 (as Mando Guerrero)
Andres Orozco	...	Federale #2
Jan Hanks	...	Receptionist (as Jan Jensen)
José Pérez	...	(as Jose Perez)

Storyline

Two petty if violent criminals kidnap a girl being paid $1m to be a surrogate mother. As the baby is for a gangster the pair's demand for money sees several henchmen and assorted other ruthless characters head after them to Mexico. Bullets rather than talking are always going to settle this one.

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Plot Keywords:

surrogate mother | baby | kidnapping | mexico | ransom | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence/gore, language and some sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

8 September 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Sangue Frio

Filming Locations:

Abandoned Gas Station, Skull Valley, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$21,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£191,169 (UK) (17 November 2000)

Gross:

$324,922 (France) (15 December 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artisan Entertainment, Aqaba Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Unlike many movies with action-packed gunfights, every round fired is accounted for and all characters reload when appropriate, with the exception of one sequence in the brothel courtyard where Parker and Longbaugh fire dozens of rounds in rapid succession without pausing to reload: an intentional sort of fun tribute to classic action movies.

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Goofs

In the sperm bank, Parker is sitting to the left of Longbaugh. The camera moves and when the same shot is shown a few seconds later Parker gets up from the right of Longbaugh.

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Quotes

Hale Chidduck: I'd never ask you to trust me. It's the cry of a guilty soul.

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Crazy Credits

Towards the end of the credits: For Arly Thomsen you speak the truth Arly was the Key Grip for this and many other films.

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Connections

References Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

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Soundtracks

"How to Make a Margarita"
Written & Performed by Joe Kraemer

User Reviews

Yes. Yes yes yes.

Does one usually go into an action film starring Ryan Phillipe expecting to think, expecting to be challenged. I did not, in this case. And so, as I found myself confronted by this extraordinarily cool contemporary crime/western, I was shocked. This has all the makings of a generic film. The philosophical/amoral central team... could've been Pulp Fiction redux. The wise older criminal sharing his wisdom with those below him... If I really went into all the elements of this movie that could've been handled as shameless rip offs of other films, that list alone would take me over 1,000 words.

The brilliance of this film is that MacQuarrie, impressively directing for the first time from his own script, takes familiar elements, tired cliches, and breaths new, inventive life into them. This is a neat hat trick, and not an easy one. Godard did it with HIS first film, Breathless. Tarantino did it with Pulp Fiction. And MacQuarrie does it here. Note that the aforementioned instance is the only place where you will hear a mention of Tarantino similarities in this review. Those who would criticize Way of the Gun as being derivative of Taranton's film are missing the point and not really watching the film.

This film reflects an utter familiarity with the conventions of CINEMA. Of the things that go into a great film. Knowing those thigns so well, as Godard did, allows MacQuarrie to become freed enough to work with them, change them, and make them become something knew. It is quite an achievement, and this is quite an awesome film.