Review: One False Move


Jim Metzler and Earl Billings are a couple of LA cops (one white, one black) tracking down a couple of murdering drug dealers (pony-tailed lout Billy Bob Thornton, bespectacled African-American psycho Michael Beach) who are travelling with drug-addicted half-caste Cynda Williams. Apparently they are headed for Williams’ home town of Silver Star, Arkansas, after a stop in Houston to sell some drugs. The two big city cops get in touch with Star City sheriff Bill Paxton (whose lively character is aptly nicknamed ‘Hurricane’), who seems like a kid in a candy store getting the rub from a couple of ‘for real’ cops, conducting stakeouts and whatnot. Natalie Canerday plays Paxton’s wife, worried about him getting hurt, as he’s never even had to draw his gun before in six years as sheriff.



Sometime actor Carl Franklin (who had a small, recurring role on “The A-Team” and later directed “Devil in a Blue Dress” and “High Crimes”) made his feature directorial debut here with this crime-thriller from 1992 that wasn’t even initially intended for a theatrical release. With a profane screenplay co-written by supporting actor Thornton (who went on to even bigger things) and Tom Epperson (who later co-wrote “A Family Thing” with Thornton), the film is full of interesting characters and performances, and a few genuinely interesting twists and turns. Thornton and Beach in particular portray a couple of genuinely unsettling killers, one loudmouthed and seething, the other controlled and cold-blooded- they’re absolutely chilling. I will say that, prison stint or not, they’re so wildly different that it was a bit of a stretch to see them working together. This was also one of the first films that allowed underrated Paxton a chance to show he was more than just the goofball from “Weird Science” and “Aliens” (and reaching his peak with his performance in “Frailty”, his own directorial debut). His excitable hick sheriff seems a bit over-the-top at first, but by the end Paxton has managed to pull off very well, what is actually a very tricky, layered role.



Personally I think it’s a tad overrated, and found the profanity a bit much. I swear quite a bit myself, but it seemed too forced and excessive here, a little unnecessary. However, this is a very strong directorial debut, with a rather doom-laden feel as forces are inevitably headed for a violent collision by the film’s end. It’s a dark film, not for everyone, but if you like your killer-thrillers, and happen to be a fan of either the late Bill Paxton or the still-living Billy Bob Thornton, you really need to check this sleeper out.



Rating: B-

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