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Nicolas Cage, Lara Flynn Boyle, Dennis Hopper

Special guest: Elliot Lavine, Roxie Theatre programmer and Stanford film instructor

An honest but broke ex-Marine gets entangled in a murder-for-hire scheme in this improbable and amusing Southwest noir.

Nicolas Cage, Lara Flynn Boyle, Dennis Hopper

Special guest: Elliot Lavine, Roxie Theatre programmer and Stanford film instructor

An honest but broke ex-Marine gets entangled in a murder-for-hire scheme in this improbable and amusing Southwest noir.

Wayne: I thought you were supposed to be here last Friday. You are here for the job, aren’t you? And you’re Lyle from Dallas, right?

Michael: Right.

Who can blame Michael for lying, just this once? He’s a penniless ex-Marine who just missed out on a promised job because he admitted to having a bum leg. When he learns exactly what “the job” Wayne offers involves, Michael tries to do the right thing. He takes the down payment, but visits Wayne’s wife, Suzanne, to let her know her husband is trying to kill her.

But this is noir, which means no good deed goes unpunished. And it’s Southwestern noir, which means a plot with hairpin turns, rich irony, and flashes of mordant humor. The hired-gun Lyle from Dallas shows up, Wayne turns out to be a more powerful enemy than anticipated, and Suzanne is, like all noir dames, not to be trusted. Nicolas Cage gives a wonderfully understated performance as a man trying to pass himself off as the strong, silent type when, really, he’s just confused. Dennis Hopper is perfect as the alternately affable and deadly Lyle, the late J.T. Walsh is a cold-eyed, soft-spoken Wayne, and Lara Flynn Boyle does a good smolder as the two-timing Suzanne. And the storytelling is superb.

Red Rock West may have a labyrinthine plot that defies detailed description afterwards, but the audience has no trouble following it. If someone who hasn’t seen it asks, just tell them it’s about a normally honest guy who lies during a job interview. In today’s economy, people will understand.