Kiss or Kill (1997)
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82% of critics liked it
(28 reviews) -
67% of users liked it
(380 ratings)
Set amidst the eerie desolation of the Australian outback, Kiss or Kill is a superior reworking of vintage film noir materials from the veteran director Bill Bennett. Its lovers-on-the-run story focuses on Nicole (Frances O'Connor) and Al (Matt Day), a pair of petty thieves running a scam… More Set amidst the eerie desolation of the Australian outback, Kiss or Kill is a superior reworking of vintage film noir materials from the veteran director Bill Bennett. Its lovers-on-the-run story focuses on Nicole (Frances O'Connor) and Al (Matt Day), a pair of petty thieves running a scam targeting married businessmen; when one of their victims accidentally dies, they flee his hotel room, absconding with his briefcase. The case contains a videotape of Zipper Doyle (Barry Langrishe), a national soccer hero, molesting a young boy; Nicole and Al soon take off for Perth, intending to blackmail Doyle -- never suspecting that he, as well as the police, are already in hot pursuit. As the two make their way across the country, they leave a trail of dead bodies in their wake; both Nicole and Al begin to suspect that the other is a murderer, and as their journey continues, their paranoia only grows. A similar feeling of mistrust and dread informs virtually every interpersonal relationship in the film, effectively gnawing at our own perceptions and expectations; a stylistically aggressive picture, brimming with jump cuts and inventive camera work, its distinctive take on the noir tradition is fresh and exciting. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Directed By
- Bill Bennett
- Written By
- Bill Bennett
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense
R,
- In Theaters
- Nov 7, 1997 Wide
- Studio
- Universal Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Jack Mathews, Los Angeles Times
Imagine Terrence Malick's Badlands done as black comedy, with the rural atmosphere of Psycho and dialogue rubbed against flint.
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Stephen Holden, New York Times
If this scenario sounds like stock film-noir plotting, Bill Bennett ... makes something utterly fresh and, for all its scent of evil, invigorating out of it.
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John Hartl, Film.com
In some ways, it's a remarkable recovery for writer-director Bill Bennett, whose much-tampered-with Sandra Bullock vehicle Two If by Sea was almost unwatchable.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
I've seen countless road movies, but this one felt different, as if it had an unbalanced flywheel.
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Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
A cleverly disguised whodunit -- a murder mystery that looks, feels and moves unlike another other murder mystery.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
No Featured Audience Ratings Found…
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Cast
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Frances O'Connor
as Nikki Davis
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Matt Day
as Al Fletcher
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Chris Haywood
as Detective Hummer
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Barry Otto
as Adler Jones
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Max Cullen
as Stan
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Andrew S. Gilbert
as Detective Crean
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Barry Langrishe
as Zipper Doyle
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Jennifer Cluff
as Bel Jones
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John Clark
as Possum Harry
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Don Chapman
as Lindsay Klein
- Chris Hayward
