Robert Towne, best known as the writer of Chinatown, directed this backstabbing corkscrew of a film from his own script after several notable directors didn't meet interpretation. A dark brooding piece, that is as meditative and murky as it is tightly written for suspense and twists, Tequila Sunrise focuses on the expectations that conventional mores place upon our freedom to interct and even love whomever our heart bids us.
Gibson plays a drug dealer with, if not a conscience, at least a code of some sort of ethics. He is raising a son and wants to retire from illegal activities so that he may be a good role model.
Russel plays a narcotics cop bucking for a promotion. In order to get his promotion he needs to bust the area's most notorious dealer... guess who. Problem: he and Gibson and childhood mates.
Pfeiffer is a woman caught between them, each one wanting her for different reasons. Raul Julia and J.T. Walsh complete the central players in a fine ensemble on people with agendas that may be worth sacrificing the alliances they have made along the way.
As the various subplots tie themselves into impossible-to-unravel knots, every character will be forced to question what it is he or she holds sacred. Tough and even regretted decisions are made. Friendships are made and dissolved, hearts are broken, revenges plotted...
Gibson is at his best here, Pfeiffer brings great depth to what could easily have been little more than a trophy role. Walsh and Julia are so poker-faced that an audience member who succeeds in reading all the angles should account himself no more than a lucky guesser as they leave you very few clues to work with.
Ironically, despite the desires of Gibson and Towne, the ending had to be altered to please test audiences. Later critics would harp severely on the final shot, the reviews keeping away significant audience. While the ending may be unsatisfying to the typically cynical noir fan, it does not change the fact that this a far-above-average genre flick with an excellent cast and a superb script.
Worth a watch, worth several.
