Cutter's Way
Cutter's way is hard to put in a category. It's a delicate blend of thriller, comedy, drama, conspiracy, buddy movie (I hate that term, too), incredibly moving acting, incredible noir-ish (not noir) cinematography and one of the most haunting scores in cinema. Richard Bone (Jeff Bridges) is the aimless playboy yin to Alex Cutter's hardcore Vietnam veteran yang and Moe (Lisa Eichorn) is Alex's cynical wife. All three drink and exist in a modest house in a Santa Barbara neighborhood in the 70's. Until one rainy night in an alley, where Bone steers his foreign convertible when the engine dies, and half-sees a man depositing a woman's body in a trash can. Alex takes Bone and Moe to a parade hours after Bone is grilled by detectives. "That's him," a weary Bone tells Cutter, when oil magnate JJ Cord rides by on a white horse....
...and this is where it takes off. Cutter enlists the victim's sister and goes on a single-minded plan to extract vengeance.
How this is accomplished is the wildest and poignant tale you're ever going to see and the atmosphere is Lynchian, but pre-Lynchian. The plot is not conventionally excuted and this a treat for the willing. Again, a career best for John Heard as the intense Cutter, Jeff Bridges is simply incredible, and the gifted Lisa Eichorn evokes the gamut of raw emotions. Not a noir film, but a cult film in every sense of the word. Well worth renting or owning. Perhaps director Ivan Passer's finest.
revenge, neo noir, murder