The Big Easy **** (1986, Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, Ned Beatty) – Classic Movie Review 1855

Director Jim McBride’s hot and fresh 1986 erotic crime thriller stars Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin in their prime and on their peak form. They show they have the sexual chemistry to make screenwriter Daniel Petrie Jnr’s New Orleans-set story a real sizzler.

Quaid plays a cheeky cop called Remy McSwain, a lieutenant in Homicide, who falls out with Barkin’s Ann Osborne, a beautiful but prim and proper district attorney from the D.A.’s police corruption task force in his office during an inquiry into a series of gang killings that might lead back to corruption in the police.

Ann may be prim and proper, but Remy begins a relationship with her, but then he’s charged with accepting bribes as he stumbles across a police corruption sting. The criminals insist none of the crime gangs are behind the still continuing killings.

The rousing performances of the on-form stars at their best, the New Orleans locations, Daniel Petrie Jnr’s taut, hardboiled screenplay, Brazilian director of photography Affonso Beato’s atmospheric cinematography, the exciting Cajun music and McBride’s incisive direction all add up to make it a big easy winner.

Also in the cast are Ned Beatty, John Goodman, Ebbe Roe Smith, Lisa Jane Persky, Charles Ludlam, Thomas O’Brien, Grace Zabriskie, James Garrison, Carol Sutton, Marc Lawrence, Solomon Burke, Gailard Sartain and Robert Lesser.

It’s directed with an eye-catching mix of style, energy and atmosphere by McBride, who earlier made the excellent Breathless in 1983, but otherwise hasn’t enjoyed the glittering career that was expected of him.

Just a single week separates the two stars. Quaid celebrated his 60th birthday on April 9 2014 and Barkin hers on April 16 2014.

This and Sea of Love (1989) are Barkin’s two best films.

A TV series followed in 1996-97 with Tony Crane and Susan Walters as Remy and Ann, plus Barry Corbin and Eric George. It had 34 60-minute episodes before it was cancelled.

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© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1855

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