everybody pays This unambitious film from director Graham Theakston benefits from his creation of a believable Bostonian small-time gambling millieu run out of the bar owned by bookie Peter Falk. Falk is Irish Catholic but also connected to the local mob to whom he pays a percentage, and things change when the mob bring in Freddie Prince Jnr to help in Falk's uncollected tab. This is the most unlikeable character I have seen Prince Jnr portray, and giving him a cocaine habit provides a queazy parallel to his late father. Any business with a mafioso link is headed for tragedy, particularly when it is represented by Prince Jnr who has a gift for antagonism. Theakston's inevitable scenes of violence are unconvincing - one where Prince Jnr is slapped in the face is silly, and he lingers over the end - but the empathy built up for the characters overrides this weakness. Falk always benefits from someone to play off and here he has a wonderful rapport with Tyne Daly as his wife. She has a scene with Lauren Holly, a co-worker, where Daly describes the early sadness of her life which is a masterclass in acting. Holly is disappointing until she provides tears of fear in two scenes, but Timothy Hutton as her husband is miscast as an alcoholic. When Falk walks away from a scene of abuse, Theakston's enobling Irish music on the soundtrack may clue us into Falk's disgust but we are appalled at his inaction. This incident may be the deciding one for Falk to avenge himself, but since the sequence of events that climax the film alter our expectation, the criticism of Falk's character remains. Perhaps we are to believe that this inaction predetermines the character's fate, but it is still a disturbing choice. This film was produced by Cis Corman of Barbra Streisand's Barwood Productions.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
