El Cortez (2006)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Stephen Purvis

Writer (WGA):

Chris Haddock (written by)

Release Date:

27 January 2007 (Hungary)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Come to a place where secrets lie.

Plot:

A man just released from a mental institution gets involved in a gold mine scheme while trying to avoid the cops, a wrathful drug dealer, and a sultry femme fatale. |

Plot Keywords:

Neo Noir | Male Full Frontal Nudity | Independent Film

Cast

Lou Diamond Phillips	...	Manny DeSilva
Bruce Weitz	...	Popcorn
Glenn Plummer	...	Jack Clay
Tracy Middendorf	...	Theda
James McDaniel	...	Arnie
Peter Onorati	...	Carlo Russo
Shelley Malil	...	Prison Doctor
David Johann	...	Prison Guard
Robin Adair	...	Cecile
Kathleen LaGue	...	Waitress
Joseph Griffin	...	Frank
Deborah Cresswell	...	Hotel Clerk
Edoardo Ballerini	...	Roy Morrison
Josh Estrada	...	Sam
Pat Crawford Brown	...	Helena

Also Known As:

Three for the Devil (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sexuality, some violence and drug content.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Australia:MA (2006) | Australia:MA | USA:R | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Three-Four Productions LLC

Quotes:

Arnie: Junkie fever. Just think of it like you do Theda. Can't get enough, even when you got her. Theda's in your blood. Dreamland, Manny... You know where that is? You can think things, see things that are real. But they're not real... like a waking nightmare.

A very average thriller

Neither really a thriller, or mystery, nor clever enough in its plot, twists, or script El Cortez is a pleasant enough diversion but lacks any real distinction.

The plot is nothing you haven't seen before, the characters are OK, but really below par. The fault may lie with Lou Diamond Philips. He is not a character actor in the mould of Edward Norton and the way he plays Manny is too off-balance for the material. The fact that he plays the ex-com hotel desk clerk like Edward Norton would have just doesn't ring true somehow.

The rest of the cast are good, especially James McDaniel as the cop, but the material is somehow flat. The real fault lies in the way it is shot: too light, and bright. I would have liked the lighting and shooting to have been less TV movie mode and more film noir: more shadows, and less claustrophobic. I felt Stephen Purvis wanted it to be a small tale, which is right, but would have liked to have built more atmosphere. A soundtrack would have helped enormously.

There is nothing spectacularly wrong with El Cortez it just is what it is: a small theatrical thriller that would work well as a stage piece and fails to translate its convictions and menace to film.

Overall, worth watching if you like the genre, but don't expect too much.