Bright Lights, Sinly City

Author(s): Josh P.
Location: Chicago, IL

“Bright Lights, Sinly City"

Directed by Brian De Palma
Screenplay by Quentin Tarantino
Story by Brian De Palma and Quentin Tarantino
Produced by Lawrence Bender and Brian De Palma
Executive Producers: Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Barry Mendel
Cinematography by Robert Richardson
Edited by Sally Menke
Original Music by Alexandre Desplat

Principal Cast:

Matthew Goode (William Levin)
William Hurt (Charles Levin)
Geena Davis (Barbara Levin)
Michelle Williams (Anna Darsky)
David Morse (Detective John Patley)
Quentin Tarantino (James Beckins)
Michael Biehn (Michael Simmons)
Lukas Haas (Bobby Hendricks)
Christina Ricci (Estelle Marries)

Tagline: "Taking a gamble always has high stakes"

Synopsis: Las Vegas provides an entertaining hot spot where powerful men and women gather in the most notorious spot in the country. Here, on the outskirts of the city, is another one of the many casinos: Sinly City. Every day, hundreds of people come here to spend their money and the casino head Charles Levin (Hurt) is a witness to it all. Also a witness is his son William (Goode). Charles wants a bright future for his son and his fianceé (Williams) away from the deadly attraction of Las Vegas. He wants them to travel out west where his brother, William’s uncle, has a stable job for him in California. William is intruiged by this but isn’t quite taken. Ever since he was young, he wanted to learn more about the casino business that his father helped build, but his father has kept him out of the major loop while his curiosity has continued to grow.

One night, William takes a late night cruise on the notorious streets to fill a sexual need that he has managed to keep quite from his family. While riding along in a rented car, he stumbles upon a pequliar site. On a street corner, he witnesses the head police detective his father employes at the casino (Morse) talking to a strange man (Tarantino). He has noticed this strange man at the casino for many years but never took it upon himself to find out more. He then sees the two men get into a vehicle and drive away. Intrigued, he follows them.

What he finds is that he is led to a secret meeting place in a rundown bar. When he enters, he finds something surprising. Inside are the detective, the mysterious man now named James Beckins and Michael Simmons (Biehn), one of the most notorious drug runners in the city who has built up the reputation of being unmercifully cruel and untouched by police. It is quite a shock to William for him to find out that Simmons and his father have had an unofficial relationship ever since the beginning of his casino days: Simmons uses part of his money from drug running to fund the operations of the casino and his father uses his influence to keep the police off of his trail, aided by having one of the most influential police detectives on the payroll.

However, Will is not turned off by this; he is excited. He wants to now help Simmons because he sees that something exciting has now come out of his father’s business. Simmons agrees and uses him, Beckins and another runner (Haas) to help increase the profits. Will even starts to find a new love interest in one of Simmons’s throw away junkie girls (Ricci). Still, Will does not do the best job of concealing his double life. He disappears for days at a time, starts using the drugs more and more, and when word gets back to his father that something might be going on, Charles starts to act. Disgusted with the way everything has gone, he takes the ultimate risk and turns on Simmons and Pately. Both men are arrested with information provided by an annonomyous tip, and Will is sent to rehab. However the legions still loyal to Simmons have one last card to play. One of them ends up assassinating Charles on the casino floor. At his funeral, Will is reminded of the terrible events that have unfolded and how the bright lights did not cover the deadly sins.

What the press would say:

When one thinks of “Oscar material”, the name Brian De Palma might not immediately jump to mind, but here he certainly delivers an impressive turn. The high fashion life of Las Vegas goes perfectly with De Palma’s sensibilities, as he masterfully creates a highly stylized world drenched in a dark overtone of drugs and death. This is the perfect genre for him to work in and his use of the quick edits, swooping cinematography and fast pace make for just the right note for this film. Quentin Tarantino, a long time fan of De Palma’s work, also provides a fast, intelligent screenplay that plays both to the usual talk heavy dialouge as well as exploring deeper aspects of a high stakes world. Matthew Goode breaks out as a serious leading man in this role. He has proven supporting status in films like The Lookout and Match Point but here he truly shows the fascination this character has from the discovery of a new side of living wild to the ultimate crash he feels at the film’s tragic end. While many people in the ensemble excel, it is Michael Biehn and William Hurt who are standouts. Hurt masters the concerned father who is looking out for the misguided son and Biehn absolutely nails as the cruel villian who is both entertaining to watch and so lovely to hate. Quick-paced editing from Sally Menke, glorious and sweeping cinematography from Robert Richardson, and the quirky original score from Alexandre Desplat (mixed with some oldies from Tarantino’s collection) only add to the sheer enjoyment of this piece. The campaign consideration:

Best Picture
Best Director: Brian De Palma
Best Actor: Matthew Goode
Best Supporting Actor: Michael Biehn
Best Supporting Actor: William Hurt
Best Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino (screenplay/story), Brian De Palama (story)
Best Art Direction
Best Cinematography
Best Film Editing