Red Rock West
Short description
Michael Williams, a former Marine drifter, arrives in the small Wyoming town of Red Rock West hoping to find work. Instead, a bar owner named Wayne mistakes him for the hitman he has hired to kill his wife Suzanne, and hands him an advance payment. Michael plays along, takes the money, and sets out to warn Suzanne, only for her to offer him double that amount to kill her husband instead. He accepts and then tries to flee, but his escape is complicated by the arrival of the real killer, Lyle.
John Dahl directed and co-wrote the film with his brother Rick, following his debut Kill Me Again and preceding The Last Seduction. Nicolas Cage plays Michael, with Dennis Hopper as Lyle, Lara Flynn Boyle as Suzanne, and J.T. Walsh as Wayne. Produced by Steve Golin and Sigurjón Sighvatsson, the film had a budget of about 8 million dollars but took in roughly 3 million worldwide, a poor result at the time; it later found a wider audience. On IMDb it holds a 7 out of 10 from around 28,000 votes, and on TMDB a 6.8 from just over 400. Its critics' rating of 7.6 from 117 reviews sits above both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Despite the film being set in Wyoming, filming took place in Montana and Arizona. The film's director and screenwriter, John Dahl, is originally from Montana.
- John Dahl initially wanted Dennis Hopper to play Wayne Brown, but Hopper persuaded the director to give him the role of Lyle from Dallas.
- Nicolas Cage received the leading role largely due to a recommendation from his uncle, Francis Ford Coppola, who was very impressed with Dahl's debut film 'Kill Me Again' (1989).
- Dwight Yokem, who played the truck driver, used his own pistol on set.
- When the film was first shown to the public, none of the producers were seen at the screening.
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