Neo-Noir Pulp
Manny DeSilva (Lou Diamond Phillips), an mildly autistic man recently released from a prison for the criminally insane, finds work as the desk clerk at Hotel El Cortez, a seedy dive in Reno.
He's really an innocent, pure of heart, but he gets sucked into the lives of Theda (Tracy Middendorf), a seductive blonde, and her insanely jealous heroin dealer boyfriend Jack (Glenn Plummer); Popcorn (Bruce Weitz), a wheelchair-bound wheeler dealer who wants to cut Manny in on his gold mine deal; Carlo Russo (Peter Onorati, who also wrote the script) Popcorn's investor target; and Arnie (James McDaniel), a no-holds-barred cop trying to get enough evidence on Jack to put him away.
Several interesting twists and turns kept me guessing.
The soundtrack is pretty much terrific funky blues guitar licks that really set the right tone.
Directed by Stephen Purvis.
Rated R for language, sexuality, some violence and drug content.
My personal rating: B-
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