Quarantine Movies Reviews 7: Four small town murder mysteries

Watch out who you chat with in these small towns (really three small towns and a big estate)!

Ryan's Reviews of Cookie's Fortune, Clay Pigeons, Drowning Mona, and Gosford Park.

Janeane Garofalo and Vince Vaughn in Clay Pigeons. pc: IMDB

Clay Pigeons (released 1998) Ryan's Rating ✯✯1/2 (out of four)

I have wanted to see this film since I saw the VHS cover in Blockbuster Video but at the time it was a little older than my sixth grade mind could handle so my family was not going to rent it for me. I never got around to watching it till now (though the Amazon Prime Video version is a pan & scan, seemingly copied from a VHS which maybe takes it all full circle). 

Clay (a young Joaquin Phoenix) is a lazy guy living in a small town (possibly in Texas though the film was shot in Utah) and has been sleeping with his best friend's wife. His best friend kills himself and makes it look like a murder committed by Clay. Soon a mysterious drifter, with a creepy laugh (early career Vince Vaughn), shows up and insinuates himself into Clay's life. Within a week more dead bodies start showing up all with a connection to Clay and then the FBI arrives (Janeane Garofalo) to look into it. This is a mix of Neo-Noir and a black comedy, the opening scene really pulls the audience in and the first thirty minutes are so good that the rest of the film doesn't sustain the greatness of the beginning. On top of that the pace slows down at about the halfway mark. I enjoyed the movie overall, though the ending is not a satisfying resolution and sometimes the country songs on the soundtrack dilute their scenes instead of enhancing them. It is very reminiscent of the 1980s and 1990s independent Neo-Noirs or crime films like Blood Simple, One False Move, and Red Rock West (among many others). If you're a fan of Neo-Noir and have an hour and forty five minutes give this one a whirl.

Cookie's Fortune (released 1999) Ryan's Rating ✯✯✯ (out of four).

Charles S. Dutton and Liv Tyler in Cookie's Fortune PC IMDB

During Easter weekend in a small Mississippi town, a wealthy eccentric woman named Cookie (played by the always lovely Patricia Neal) dies in her sleep and her money hungry sister (played by Glenn Close) claims it was murder. Soon Cookie's longtime friend and handyman (Charles S. Dutton in one of his most appealing performances) is charged with the crime, though most of the town doubts his involvement. This Robert Altman film, like all Altman films, is an ensemble piece with a wonderful cast (including Julianne Moore, and many1990s familiar faces like Liv Tyler, Chris O'Donnell, and Lyle Lovett) and a more whimsical lighthearted approach than I am used to from Altman. And like other Altman films it is more of a character study than a true mystery as the audience knows full well what happened but we are watching to see how the story plays out with the these wonderful characters. It is a sweet funny film.

Drowning Mona (released 2000) Ryan's Rating ✯✯ (out of four).

In a town where everyone still drives a Yugo brand car because it was used for market testing in the 1970s, the most hated resident Mona Dearly (played with gusto by Bette Midler) is murdered when her brakes fail. The sheriff (excellent Danny DeVito) begins to investigate and finds a town full of suspects but all evidence seems to point toward his soon to be son-in-law (pre-fame Casey Affleck). This is a very black comedy, with much of the "humor" being downright mean. Through flashbacks we see events told by different characters and how the story changes depending on which character is speaking. The plot is a traditional small town "whodunit" mystery but run through a wacky filter and by the end I did not really care to figure out who the culprit was. The movie feels too long even at 96 minutes and the excellent cast that includes Neve Campbell (the sheriff's daughter) and Jamie Lee Curtis (not given much to do as a chain smoking waitress). It would have been better shorter and maybe as an HBO TV movie instead of a theatrical feature. There are some funny ideas, like the Yugos.

Gosford Park (released 2001) Ryan's Rating ✯✯✯ (out of four).

Another wonderful late career gem by Robert Altman. At the British Estate of the title a wide array of aristocracy and their servants gather for a weekend party where the host is killed. While there is a murder and a solution, the murder element of the story doesn't really happen till quite late in the film. This is really a "upstairs/downstairs" ensemble piece as we see the lives of the wealthy and their servants juxtaposed. The Oscar winning screenplay by Julian Fellows is a precursor to Fellows later success. He took many of the elements in his story here and several years later created the extremely successful Downton Abby TV Series. An enjoyable ensemble piece that is not really a mystery but just an interesting character study with great cinematography, excellent set/costume design, and wonderful performance by a great cast.