The Bag Man

The Bag Man is a modern day film noir crime story which is a great showcase for John Cusack as "Jack" the bagman, assigned to look after a mysterious leather satchel while hiding out at a seedy motel. Robert De Niro plays his crime boss and looks interesting with a silver pompadour, a la Paulie from the Sopranos.

The movie is definitely more sophisticated than a generic crime thriller with De Niro's character quoting Herman Hesse and Sun Tzu. The motel Cusack hides out in is also filled with odd characters like the desk clerk played by Crispin Glover, a Serbian dwarf and a pimp with an eye patch. The tension of not knowing what's in the bag works very well and there's also lots of good action.

All in all, The Bag Man was a pretty enjoyable ride and had an offbeat sensibility that reminded me of the Coen brothers.