Johnny Handsome ** (1989, Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Elizabeth McGovern, Morgan Freeman, Forest Whitaker, Lance Henriksen, Scott Wilson) – Classic Movie Review 12,900

Walter Hill’s misfiring 1989 neo-noir crime thriller film Johnny Handsome stars the exceptional team of Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Elizabeth McGovern, Morgan Freeman, Forest Whitaker, Lance Henriksen, and Scott Wilson.

Director Walter Hill’s 1989 neo-noir crime thriller film Johnny Handsome stars the exceptional team of Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Elizabeth McGovern, Morgan Freeman, Forest Whitaker, Lance Henriksen, and Scott Wilson.

Mickey Rourke plays a disfigured petty crook called John Sedley, mocked as ‘Johnny Handsome’, who is caught in a raid, released from jail with a new handsome face thanks to a clever surgeon named Dr Steven Fisher (Forest Whitaker), and plots revenge on double-crossing characters Sunny Boyd and Rafe Garrett (Ellen Barkin and Lance Henriksen), accomplices in a crime.

Unfortunately, the distinguished cast are hard pressed to make their mark in this lurid, no-frills thriller from director Hill. A raw energy and Ry Cooder’s score keep it rattling along. but the absurdity of the premise and the awkward roles played by Rourke and Barkin combine to defy all belief and most sympathy.

There is trouble with the screenplay, which is written by Ken Friedman, based on the 1972 novel The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome by John Godey. On the plus side, the score is written, produced and performed by Ry Cooder, with four songs by Jim Keltner. Hill recalls: ‘Ry surrounds a movie and plays through the atmosphere. I like that.’

Johnny Handsome must be judged a slight misfire, though it is nevertheless an interesting, watchable one, and sneakily likeable. Despite their hard, committed work, it did nothing for the careers of its two stars and its director.

Walter Hill turned down directing the film three times, and clearly recognised all the traps and dangers inherent in the project, but went ahead and did it anyway and fell into the various traps and dangers. Hill said: ‘I thought it was a good yarn. At the same time, there is this plastic-surgery story I thought cheated on melodrama. It’s one of those conventions of 1940s movies, like the missing identical twin or amnesia’.

The novel is about small-time Mafia in New Jersey, but Hill changed the locale to New Orleans, where he had shot Hard Times (1975) and Southern Comfort (1981). Hill said: ‘I thought the small-time Mafia thing had been seen an awful lot, and I thought maybe a kind of look at redneck crime in a Southern city might be a little different.’

Johnny Handsome is directed by Walter Hill, runs 95 minutes, is made by The Guber-Peters Company and Carolco Pictures, is released by Tri-Star Pictures (US) and Guild (UK), is written by Ken Friedman, based on the novel The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome by John Godey, is shot by Matthew F Leonetti, is produced by Charles Roven, is scored by Ry Cooder, and is designed by Gene Rudolf.

Release date: September 29, 1989.

The film flopped, costing $20 million and taking only $7 million at the box office.

The cast are Mickey Rourke as John Sedley/ Johnny Handsome/ Johnny Mitchell, Ellen Barkin as Sunny Boyd, Elizabeth McGovern as Donna McCarty, Morgan Freeman as Lt A Z Drones, Forest Whitaker as Dr Steven Fisher, Lance Henriksen as Rafe Garrett, Scott Wilson as Mikey Chalmette, David Schramm as Vic Dumask, Yvonne Bryceland as Sister Luke, Peter Jason as Mr Bonet, J W Smith as Mr Stathansom, Jeff Meek as Earl, Allan Graf as Bob Lemoyne, Ed Zang as Prestige Manager, John P Fertitta as Prestige Salesman, Raynor Scheine as Gun Dealer, Edward Walsh as Judge, Ken Medlock as Shipyard Accountant, and Blake Clark as Sheriff Monte.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 12,900

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