Bonnie and Clyde. Now there was a classic. That movie was as much a classic as a cult movie as a ground-breaker. Over the years, we have seen many different "versions" of this movie, the best one probably being Thelma & Louise (1991). But after seeing Truth Or Consequences, N.M., I'd say this is the movie that resembles the most this masterpiece.
Donald Sutherland. Now there is a great actor. Probably one of the best living actors in today's movie industry. His small roles in A Time To Kill (1996) and JFK (1991) are just as mesmerising as his big roles like in The Assignment (1997). If you were to ask me "Who do you think will be the next Donald Sutherland?", I would have to say "No one". But after seeing Truth Or Consequences, N.M., I'd say Kiefer Sutherland could become as great an actor as his father is.
As for a great director, well, that doesn't seem to be a problem in Hollywood right for many young directors are developing themselves into great ones and many of the older great directors are still around and while not necessarily becoming one of the greatest directors in the industry, Kiefer Sutherland seems to have as much of an acting talent as of a directing talent.
The movie's story seems very simple and in a way it is. A drug deal gone awry leaves about six dead people including five cops and four young people on the run from the law. But as the movie develops, so does the story. Hostages, undercover cop, drug lords, pregnancy, the Mob, and life on the road all mix together into this delightful mixture of love and guns.
In 1967's Bonnie & Clyde, Warren Beatty was a criminal at the beginning of the movie and always wanted to rob and unfortunately killed people. In 1991's Thelma & Louise, the two women had gone on a vacation with no intention to become criminals but unfortunately were dragged into that world by a murder involving a would-be rapist. In Truth Or Consequences, N.M., only Kiefer Sutherland's character starts off as a crazy maniac with the intention of killing people and this is why this movie differs from the two others. What lead these people to be criminals is an internal action, an action caused by Kiefer Sutehrland's character, an action that could have been avoided contrarily to those of Bonnie & Clyde and Thelma & Louise.
Equally good in the movie are Vincent Gallo and Mykelti Williamson. Gallo plays the head of the gang, a man with a conscience who has no desire in killing people and whose only goal is to go down to Mexico with his girlfriend (Kim Dickens)and get married. Williamson has the hardest role of the movie as an undercover drug enforcement agent and must change the way he acts and talks in presence of Vincent Gallo, Kiefer Sutherland, and Kim Dickens. The cast also includes two very small roles, one for Rod Steiger and the other for Martin Sheen who are both in top shape. But the movie belongs to the four young people on the run who act out the movie to perfection.
