Flesh and Bone (1993)

Around thirty years after Arlis witnessed his father murdering a family, he runs into Kay, who happens to be the family's baby, who was spared. Kay and Arlis suspect nothing about each ... See full summary »

Director:

Steve Kloves

Writer:

Steve Kloves

Stars:

Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, James Caan

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julia McNeal	...	Sarah Willets (as Julia Mueller)
Ron Kuhlman	...	Clem Willets
Jerry Swindall	...	Young Arlis
Ryan Bohls	...	Scotty Willets
James Caan	...	Roy Sweeney
Dennis Quaid	...	Arlis Sweeney
Ez Perez	...	Boy in Suit
Craig Erickson	...	Tiny Ted
Barbara Alyn Woods	...	Cindy
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Ginnie
Joe Berryman	...	Plump Man
Meg Ryan	...	Kay Davies
Scott Wilson	...	Elliot
James N. Harrell	...	Woody
Gerardo Johnson	...	Juan

Storyline

Around thirty years after Arlis witnessed his father murdering a family, he runs into Kay, who happens to be the family's baby, who was spared. Kay and Arlis suspect nothing about each other, but when his father returns, old wounds are reopened.

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Plot Keywords:

baby | girl in a cake | derelict house | condom | vending machine | 

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Taglines:

Evil is patient

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some sexuality and a scene of intense violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 November 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Força de um Passado

Filming Locations:

Stanton, Texas, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$9,488,998

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mirage Enterprises,Spring Creek Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min 116 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The murders at the beginning of the film evoke the 1959 murders of Kansas farmer Herb Clutter, his wife, and their two teenage children. This case was later documented in Truman Capote's book "In Cold Blood", which in turn was made into a film (In Cold Blood (1967)) starring Scott Wilson and Robert Blake as the two killers. Wilson appears in this film in the role of Arliss' employee.

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Goofs

When Roy is shot in the heart at the end of the film, a small circle of blood forms around the bullet hole in his shirt. Later, when the body is shown again, the blood stain hasn't expanded in size. A real shot to the heart would have caused massive bleeding in a very short time, resulting in a greatly enlarged blood stain.

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Quotes

Kay: You got a pretty face, you should let the boys see it.
Ginnie: It ain't my face the boys want to see.

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Connections

Referenced in Game k n b?: Episode dated 3 March 2007 (2007)

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Soundtracks

Lilita
Written by Bill Bernstein
Performed by Desert Star Boys

User Reviews

A Classic Film Noir

You will never see Meg Ryan in a role like this. She was phenomenal and it is unfortunate she did not get more roles like this. Dennis Quaid and Gwyneth Paltrow were also excellent and these three make the film worth watching. James Caan is fine, but his role is so one- dimensional that no actor can do much with it, and indeed he didn't.

This film is a must see because of the characters. The plot is compelling and very dark, but the characters shine through and illuminate each other in a way that is unique because each character has dimensions that are not explained. Paltrow's character seems like a throwaway, but may be the most important of all. If I were teaching a course on film, I would select this one and ask the students to explain why it works. I usually think I know why a film is excellent, and yet after this film ended, I knew I could not put it into words. The purpose of this review is to suggest you watch this one if you get a chance because you may love it. Most who watched this movie were pleased but unenthusiastic. This film is much, much better than the 6.2 rating it had when I checked.