City of Industry

I would describe Harvey Keitel's performance in this violent thriller as exceptional, except that he turns in such remarkable performances time after time. He plays Roy Egan, a veteran con helping his kid brother, Lee (Timothy Hutton), and two other desperados, pull a big jewel job in Palm Springs. The job goes well, but then one of the gang gets murderously greedy, and Roy goes into LA, after him and the loot.

The other element which lifts the movie from competent to first rate are the downtown and industrial locations. For once we see an LA not made up exclusively of lush areas like Beverly Hills on the one hand, and no-go ghettos like South Central on the other. At the same time, writer Ken Solarz and director John Irvin make good use of LA's ethnic mix, with both Chinese and Black gangs playing a part as Roy hunts his man. Hutton, Stephen Dorff, Wade Dominguez and Famke Janssen contribute solid performances, and Lucy Liu is also to be seen. The movie may descend into too much mayhem for some; and the sunny epilogue seems out of place; but this is a must-see for thriller-lovers.