Runtime: 101 minutes
Directed by: Roger Donaldson
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, M. Emmet Walsh (RIP)
From: Warner Bros./Morgan Creek
RIP M. Emmet Walsh. Like with many in the film community, this bit of news brought upon negative feelings, yet at the same time was a reminder of his villainous turns in pictures like Blood Simple & Straight Time, along with negative characters in movies like Ordinary People. I’ve already reviewed those movies and if I view any of them later in tribute, that won’t be posted about on Letterboxd. Instead, I went w/ a film I’ve heard of and thought in the past of checking out. This gave me the final push to do so, for free on Prime. After all, what a cast it has.
It is a neo-noir set in New Mexico, a desert landscape appropriate for many films in the genre. The movie’s finale was filmed at what is now White Sands National Park, where there are giant dunes not full of sandworms but white sand. Willem Dafoe is Ray (not Rachel) Dolezal, a deputy sheriff who gets roped into a situation after discovering a dead body out in the desert w/ half a million in greenbacks. For the sake of ID’ing the body, he poses as the victim in a phone call—what a mistake that was.
The famous faces you see here include Dafoe, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, & Walsh in a small role as a sardonic coroner who isn’t evil but has some sketchy morals as he suggests they should take $20,000 of the movie as no one would notice. There’s also James Rebhorn, Maura Tierney, some “that guy” actors like Miguel Sandoval, and even a few uncredited names (including Dolezal’s wife) that will not be spoiled here.
A shame then that the movie typically doesn’t rise above a simmer, the plot for all its twists (perhaps too many) isn’t really that byzantine, has a few logic holes and did not grab me like it probably should have. Yet I shouldn’t carp too loudly about a movie that’s still fine and watchable. Yes, I’d hope for something better giving the talent involved-I should also do a deeper dive on the filmography of director Roger Donaldson-but it had a decent score, nice cinematography from Peter Menzies, Jr. and the benefits of those famous actors.
M Emmet Walsh’s role in White Sands was only a few scenes in the first 15 minutes; even in a truncated role, it was still a delight to see him as it was always a delight to see him perform on screen. I was happy to see the outpouring on Twitter after his death was announced; many will miss him as much as I will. As for White Sands, it is passable entertainment—perhaps it belongs as the back-end of you creating your own drive-in double feature at home. Perhaps it would pair well w/ Blood Simple, No Country for Old Men, or perhaps even the recent genre example set in New Mexico, Love Lies Bleeding.
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