A totally unique and offbeat neo noir character study of poverty row crime loyalty and betrayal that never fails to surprise. Pakula is a fascinating director with quite a resume (KLUTE, PARALLAX VIEW, ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN and more) and he gets genuinely great performances from Finney and a young Matthew Modine. This is the kind of powerful small story that was regularly made as a b-movie 2nd feature in the 50s but has virtually disappeared in the car crash/exploding building/asteroid impact-driven event picture culture of today. This is basically a couple of down and out losers sitting in a shabby room talking, but trust me, it packs more power than most event pictures can shoot volcanic lava out of. I don't want to spoil any of the twists so just give this quirky but entirely convincing piece a look and you'll thank me.
