Albert Finney, Catherine Keener, Jeff Bridges

Topnotch casting fails to conceal a pointlessly tortuous and essentially empty Sam Shepard conceit; it's basically a rehash of themes from better Shepard plays about guilty secrets buried in the past....( read more  read more... ) In this 1999 movie, Jeff Bridges plays Lyle, a slick Kentucky horse breeder about to make a career-topping sale of a prospective Derby winner (the title character, as it were). Lyle's youthful crony, Vinnie (Nick Nolte at his scuzziest), phones in from Rancho Cucamonga, California, with a blackmail threat--he'll reveal their shared secret unless Lyle helps him sort out his goofy love life. Lyle drops everything and heads west; Vinnie promptly steals Lyle's car, and essentially his identity, and drives east. Lyle's well-oiled existence starts coming apart; Vinnie meanwhile cleans up his act and struts his stuff among the racing set. Oh, the irony of it all.

In his filmmaking debut, British theater director Matthew Warchus strains to "cinematize" the play. This mostly means relentless crosscutting, with not only Lyle's and Vinnie's journeys being overlapped, but also fragmentary flashbacks in which the teenage Lyle, Vinnie, and Lyle's haunted wife (Sharon Stone) are played by Liam Waite, Shawn Hatosy, and Kimberly Williams. Only Albert Finney, as a racing official implicated in their old scam, appears in both time frames--with unintentionally grotesque results.

The complicated editing can't conceal that there's nothing complex, or compelling, about the characters' sins. Stone doesn't show up till the third act (a ploy that worked better onstage), and is outshone by the always-intriguing Catherine Keener playing the sweet-natured dim bulb who has lately won Vinnie's heart. Back-to-back Oscar winner John Toll photographed. --Richard T. Jameson

Flixster Users

19% liked it

993 ratings

Critics

24% liked it

59 critics

R, 97 min.

Directed by: Matthew Warchus

Release Date: December 17, 1999

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DVD Release Date: August 22, 2000

Stats: 40 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (40)


  • January 5, 2009
    Can't remember much of this, except that it wasn't any good.
  • April 8, 2009
    well just seen this movie 4 the 1st time n think that this is a good movie 2 watch...its got a good cast of actors/actressess throughout this movie..i think that nick nolte, sharon stone, albert finney, catherine keener, jeff bridges, sam shepard, shawn hatosy play good parts thr...( read more)oughout this movie..i think that the director of this Drama, Mystery & Suspense movie had done a good job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect throughout this movie its a good movie 2 watch as well with a good cast throughout
  • August 20, 2007
    Um...why? Barely remember this film, except the fact that it, and Stone in particular, sucked.

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