Night at the Golden Eagle

You may see a lot of comments out there about this film simply being gratuitous doom and gloom, racist, etc. But don't buy it. This film is legit and is meaningful. If you have ever remotely experienced, witnessed or have known anyone associated with the scenarios outlined in this gritty film, then you will understand. It's characters are believable including the brief cameo by pornography actress Kitten Natividad, who probably knows more about that life style than anyone else on the set. If you are a bleeding heart looking for life's answers through political correctness or stereotypical "substantitive" films, do not watch this one. You will be disappointed.

This is definitely not your typical family fare. It's the story of a smalltime thug (Mic) with a bad temper, who gets released from jail. He's greeted at the gate by his longtime buddy (Tommy) who has decided to reform. He wants to go to Las Vegas and bring Mic along. Well, the fact that Mic has a bad temper and is an ex-con should tell you enough to know what will go on. The Golden Eagle is a rundown hotel full of poor, depraved people. A place where dreams come to die an ugly death.

None of the characters was very appealing, the filming is very dark and the story moves slowly. It's an exercise in character definition and acting. If that's what you're looking for in a movie, then this is the movie for you. However, my main problem with it, and the reason I rate it a 6, is that it's not entertaining. When I pulled the DVD out of the player, I didn't feel like I enjoyed myself, The movie didn't move me or make me think and that's a big failure in my book.

"Night at the Golden Eagle" is the kind of work that grabs your package and squeezes for 90 minutes. It's like careening around your own subconscious during night terrors. The film smacks of the depths of loneliness, despair and the threads of pure survival, filtered through a sublimely artistic prism of the characters' self-delusional hopes and desperate dreams. The direction is crisp, the cinematography excruciatingly magnificent, the acting expertly banal, and the characters out of some finely honed noir nightmare. A cheap indie full of unknown players exquisitely cast, with the awesome kick of an "L.A. Confidential" or "Seven". I couldn't look away, as much as I wanted to. A coarse gem for anyone who believes that movies can actually be art. Watch it very late at night, and then take an Ambien...otherwise you won't sleep.

NIGHT AT THE GOLDEN EAGLE (2002) ***1/2 Donnie Montemarano, Vinny Argiro Natasha Lyonne Ann Magnuson, Vinnie Jones, Sam Moore, Fayard Nicholas, Miles Dougal, Badja Djola, James Caan (Cameo) . Character driven piece of pulp fiction with career criminal Montermarano recently released from a stint in the joint and hooking up with his old cronie Argiro whose plans on going straight including his newly returned to society buddy to a jaunt to Las Vegas ends up with some cruel twists of fate on a sweltering night in the titular Los Angeles flophouse. With the feel of a novella come to life the ensemble cast of misfits, losers and degenerates set in this moldy enclave of despair permeates like a rotting carcass thanks largely to filmmaker Adam Rifkin's vision of hell on Earth (kudos to the ace cinematography by Checco Verese for his seamy look at the underbelly of humanity at its worst). Grim, uncompromising and deftly cutting to the bone of contrition.

That is how I felt after watching this spectacle of humanity. Completely down. Like I was damaged and left for refuse on the side of the curb. Rifkin did a wonderful job of giving us a side of humanity that we usually see but not at its gritty and gnarly best. This film is right up there with Aronofsky's "Requiem for a Dream" only it feels slightly more polished. The locale for one lent a perfectly hopeless air to the mise en scene. Rifkin played with the color saturation in such a way that it also added an extra layer of desperation to the visuals. Perfection, and this movie is right up there with other modern despair epics like Atlantic City and Requiem for a Dream.