Kiss of Death (1995)

Kiss of Death is directed by Barbet Schroeder and collectively written by Ben Hecht, Charles Lederer, Eleazar Lipsky and Richard Price. It stars David Caruso, Nicolas Cage, Samuel L. Jackson, Helen Hunt, Ving Rhames, Stanley Tucci, Kathryn Erbe, Michael Rapaport and Anthony Heald. Music is by Trevor Jones and cinematography by Luciano Tovoli.

Reformed ex-con Jimmy Kilmartin (Caruso) reluctantly helps out his cousin transporting stolen cars but gets caught and ends up taking the fall for the whole caper. Back in prison and missing his wife and child, Jimmy gets offered a lifeline if he is prepared to go undercover with the police to bring down psychotic crime boss Little Junior Brown (Cage).

A loose remake of the excellent 1947 film noir of the same name, Schroeder's Kiss of Death is slightly better than the iffy reputation afforded it. Yes it's more solid than anything resembling truly compelling, but it wears its noir heart on its sleeve and is very well performed by an impressive cast.

Caruso's Kilmartin is a classic noir protagonist, a man who tries to go straight but gets dragged into a world of crime and shifty undercover machinations after doing one honest intention favour. From the point he agrees to help out Ronnie Gannon (Rapaport a jumping bean performance), he loses what he holds most dear and continually gets pulled from pillar to post by everyone around him. He's basically a good guy that fate has dealt a deadly hand, even when he gets a second chance at happiness it's not long before the door knocks and he's thrust into a deadly undercover game where he will be lucky to escape with his life intact.

A lot has been made of TV star Caruso's unsuccessful attempt at breaking into films, with some believing that his performance here is mostly to blame. Yet in the context of a noir protagonist his performance is perfectly good, in fact it's a very subtle turn that isn't short on brooding intensity. That he is overshadowed by the likes of Cage (wonderfully on full tilt overdrive as a nut-case) and Jackson (calm yet assured presence) is no bad thing, especially since both come with noir infected ticks (Jackson has a continuous weeping eye/Cage has a phobia about metal in his mouth). Caruso does good here, bringing the character to life without histrionics, he helps the audience understand his frustration as he spins in his vortex of disharmony.

Nobody is done any favours by a screenplay that doesn't take chances, and at times it comes close to standing still in the mid-section, while the climax is a little underwhelming. But for a piece of pulpy neo-noir it has enough about it to make it worth a look. 6.5/10