Namely Chicago, as of 1957, and as seen through the eyes of an Indiana country boy. The setting is permeated with the romance of the wild side -- hotels, bars, strip clubs, gyms, and the literal and figurative tumble of the dice -- and only slightly demystified by the rough-grained photography of Ralf Bode and the somewhat remote directorial touch of Ben Bolt (son of playwright and screenwriter Robert Bolt). The hickishness of the hero is mercifully never a handicap: he has an Elvis haircut and the vanity to go with it, and he's got the exotic parlance of the crap-table down pat, and he really does seem to have "the best damn dice arm you've ever seen." And thanks only to the improved acting of Matt Dillon does any gawkiness and geekiness come through the cracks. Even the actor's continued debts to Brando and Clift become assets in the context. The period is vividly recalled in other ways too, not just in the impeccable production design of Bill Kenney or the obligatory goldie-oldies, but also in stylistic ways: the antiquated montage of A Night On The Town or the carefully planted and finally flowering narrative devices of the Lucky Silver Dollar and the Heart-and-Arrow Tattoo. The strong cast includes Tommy Lee Jones, Diane Lane, Lee Grant, Bruce Dern, Tom Skerritt, Don Francks, and Suzy Amis. (1987) — Duncan Shepherd
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