RARA-AVIS: Rainbow Drive/Cat Chaser

BaxDeal@aol.com
Fri, 11 Sep 1998 12:30:57 EDT Fred wrote:

>The only one I've read was _Rainbow Drive_ and I liked it >quite a lot. I
thought the film made from it was really fine. >The star was Peter Weller, who
was also in one of my >favorite films made from an Elmore Leonard novel- _Cat
>Chaser_. It was directed by Abel Ferrara and is tough as nails.

also liked Rainbow Drive. even tho it was based on a book by Thorp, thought
it felt like an early Ellroy in tone. reminded me somehow of the Lloyd
Hopkins trilogy. Thorp also wrote the novel the original Die Hard movie was
based on. think it was called something like Nothing Lasts Forever.

but can't say I agree with your assessment of Ferrara's adaptation of Cat
Chaser, Fred. thought it was a huge botch of what seemed to be a sure slam
dunk. most puzzling is the 3rd person voiceover narrative by someone who
isn't even a character in the movie. who is this supposed to represent-
Leonard? however, Kelly McGillis is to be lauded for her incredibly brave
performance. to get the full measure of it, one must rent the unrated
version.

far better representations of Abel Ferrara's sensibility would be the
extremely hardboiled trio of films- Bad Lieutenant, Dangerous Game and King of
New York.

BD/jl
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