Desert Saints

This movie was a lot of fun to watch, and I hope it gets released on DVD because I would buy it in an instant. Kiefer Sutherland turns in an excellent performance as the very interesting character Banks. My biggest problem in watching movies is that I tend to be easily bored, but I was never bored watching this movie. It was thoroughly engaging and entertaining throughout. The script is a good one, with wonderful dialogue, and I think the direction is excellent as well. Well worth seeing.

At the movie's start, Mr. and Mrs. Pelham (not their real names) are checking into a fancy hotel for their honeymoon.

Then we see the man in the green Nova burying a dead body in the desert, apparently in the American southwest. Well, actually, there's a little more to the scene, but I don't want to give away too much.

The man in the Nova goes to the truck stop where Dora is a waitress to eat, and then he continues on his way after dessert. When he needs gas, he discovers Bennie, who explains that she is going west to start a new life, but her car has broken down and she has no more money to get it fixed. The man gives Bennie a ride, and later she explains that her husband Byron was abusive.

FBI agents Scanlon and Marbury are in search of hit man Arthur Banks. They need evidence that he has actually done something in order to bring him in, and their intention is to get him to testify against those who hired him.

Bennie and her mysterious friend spend the rest of the movie either on the way to do another job in Mexico, or on the run from the FBI. A number of plot twists are introduced to keep things interesting. Still, the movie is hard to follow because we keep seeing flashbacks or scenes that haven't happened yet. That scene with the honeymoon couple is shown two more times, each time with a little more detail. Some of the flashbacks are helpful because they help us understand what is going on in the present.

Kiefer Sutherland does a capable job here, although I suspect he is better in "24" (which I have never seen other than a few clips). I just didn't quite see Emmy quality here.

But it was Melora Walters who really made the movie work for me. Bennie was tough and intelligent but adorable and sometimes funny.

There were several violent scenes, and while some of the results of violence looked quite graphic, the violence itself wasn't that bad. The language had apparently been cleaned up a lot for TV, and there was also some sexual content.

Overall, it was an okay adventure.

Bennie Harper (Melora Walters): You sure are a tough guy. Arthur Banks(Kiefer Sutherland): What are you talking about? Bennie Harper: You talk like a tough guy, you walk like a tough guy, you even order drinks like a tough guy... Arthur Banks: I'm not a tough guy - I'm just careful! Bennie Harper: Careful of what? Arthur Banks: Of pretty women...

Well, he wasn't careful enough, but I can't say any more that that without giving it away. Suffice it to say that this was a very interesting story about hit-man Banks, and a girl he picked up (Harper) to help him complete a job. The two acted like an old married couple as they haggles, and argues, and generally got on each others nerves until the job was done.

In the meantime, they are being chased by the FBI in the persons of Rachel Ticotin (Con Air, Total Recall) and Jamey Sheridan ("Law & Order: Criminal Intent").

But the film belonged to Walters (Boogie Nights, Magnoloa) and her gorgeous breasts, and to Sutherland ("24").

Desert Saints is a surprisingly good 'hitman with a twist' tale by first time writer/director Richard Greenberg. He takes the standard 'assassin's last hit' formula, and shakes it up by introducing FBI agents with their own agendas, a 'plant' who may or may not be falling for the gunman, and, in Kiefer Sutherland, a hero/villain who is ruthless, sexy, and, ultimately, sympathetic. His performance is remarkable, and is matched by Melora Walters, as the latest of his string of doomed accomplices, who is keeping even more secrets than he is! She shows a remarkable range in her role, at times ditzy, at times mysterious and sexy, and, by the film's climax, intelligent and self-sufficient.

For an indie, the cast is first-rate all the way, with the always reliable Jamey Sheridan as a veteran FBI agent, as dedicated to his job as Sutherland is to his; Leslie Stefanson as Sheridan's second-in-command, and the wild card of the operation; and, in a very sexy cameo, Rachel Ticotin, who smolders as a waitress and occasional bedmate for Sutherland.

Greenberg cleverly uses flashbacks and flashforwards to lull the viewer into believing they know how the story will end, then springs a surprise that works extremely well, and will have you paying VERY close attention to detail during the last five minutes! While the ambiguous ending may disappoint some viewers, it offers a clever 'capper' to this tale of betrayal, and works for me!

If you are a fan of Sutherland, or stories with a twist and enough sensuality to raise your heartbeat a few notches, 'Desert Saints' is the film for you!

Professional assassin Kiefer Sutherland (as Arthur "Joe" Banks) and his wife check into a hotel. After he takes out a huge gun, we switch to a dusty road. A lone car speeds, then stops. A frantic woman gets out, tosses her cookies, and starts to run. The driver turns out to be Mr. Sutherland. He wipes off his shoes, shoots the running woman, and buries her body. After having handcuff sex with a local waitress, Sutherland picks up down-on-her-luck diabetic Melora Walters (as Bennie Harper)...

Sporting a fresh cigar burn, and a handwritten "Paradise or Bust" sign, Ms. Walters is out of gas, money, and luck. Cross-cut characters Leslie Stefanson (as Donna Marbury) and Jamey Sheridan (as George Scanlon) reveal Sutherland is a high paid assassin; he specializes in picking up fly-by-night women as partners, and kills them when the hit is done. They are after Sutherland, who is on his way to assassinate a Mexican politician. This is an unassuming time passer, done in by a puzzling last shot.

****** Desert Saints (3/10/02) Richard Greenberg ~ Kiefer Sutherland, Melora Walters, Leslie Stefanson, Jamey Sheridan