On F List of Movie Reviews

(For optimum viewing, adjust the zoom level of your browser to 125%.)

---

Flesh and Bone (1993)

Rate: 10
Viewed: 4/18, 12/18

4/18: Combine Texas, sins of the past, and evil James Caan, and you will find a terrific yarn in Flesh and Bone.

Dennis Quaid turns in another exceptional performance, and he makes the story work by portraying an emotionally damaged character with a past. When James Caan shows up, watch out. He and Dennis Quaid both take the film to another level, making it more eerily haunting. I have to say Gwyneth Paltrow does an excellent job of stealing scenes when she appears. Her character is a typical nihilist with a "whatever" attitude.

Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan made three films together: Innerspace, D.O.A., and Flesh and Bone. The last one is the best of their oeuvre as a pair. As far as Meg Ryan's acting goes in this, she's okay but nothing special.

All in all, thanks to Dennis Quaid and James Caan, Flesh and Bone is a can't-miss dark neo-noir thriller about broken, complex characters.

12/18: Flesh and Bone is an underrated psychological thriller with fantastic performances by Dennis Quaid, James Caan, and Gwyneth Paltrow.

The story goes a long way with terrific lines, but watch Dennis Quaid's facial expressions and you can almost tell what he's thinking. James Caan is super evil and proves what a great actor he has been for decades. He takes the film to another level and has a powerful line, "You see, you and me...we're flesh and bone."

Gwyneth Paltrow's incallous indifference is something else. Hence, she should have been nominated for an Academy Award. By the way, notice Arlis Sweeney's thieving employee. He's played by Scott Wilson who's famous for playing one of the two killers in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.

All in all, Flesh and Bone is one of the finest films made.

---