Albino Alligator (1996, Spacey)

Three thugs, unexpectedly, walk into a bar, in an attempt to shake off the cops on their trail. Matt Dillon is their 'boss', Gary Sinise the brains and William Fichtner the loose cannon. When cornered inside, they are forced to take hostage the handful of people there - those left to clean up the bar or while away during the dying moments of the night. The slow boil approach of the film, using character development, smart dialogues and the benefit of a slowly uncoiling plan, hold sway for the first half of the film. It is only when Viggo Mortensen, playing a quite, shady French Canadian, opens his mouth and utters a plan of such staggering ingenuity, that the film reaches a level of both originality and high stakes.

Kevin Spacey may have hit new lows recently as an actor, but if "Albino Alligator" is anything to go by, the man can clearly hold his own behind the camera as well - as evidenced by a fantastic car crash that employs a Fincher like movement. Though not perfect (a film like this isn't expected to be so 'talky'), it is better than most films of this type have been recently (including "Inside Man", which probably borrow heavily from this. In hindsight, Albino Alligator evokes the memory of Lumet's "Dog Day Afternoon", not just for its setup, but the relationship between characters (which are ultimately, the real surprises) and how they react with each other. A gripping crime film, with a fantastic cast including Faye Dunaway, Skeet Ulrich, Joe Mantegna and M. Emmet Walsh.

Rating: 4/5

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