moody as hell. dark and weird and off-putting. i didn't love it quite as much as i loved HEAT but then again what on earth can match that. maybe it's the chronological distance between this movie's setting and my life? idk.

HEAT in its mid-90s setting felt like a bridge between a previous era and my own, but the crimes here are crimes of the 1970s, which might as well be a different planet. not to say it's bad at all (it's not, you can really feel the simple prowess of Michael Mann as a director even this early) but it's strangely unrelatable in the way that films about this era tend to feel.

i really do think that there are some filmmaking traditions of this era that are just... frankly, better than the ones we have now. I think I've been hitting on it in a couple recent reviews but there really is no substitute for Shooting On Film With Good Lighting.

hard to say if my understanding of the "1980s crime aesthetic" being murky and dark is a cause of or a consequence of these sort of cinematographic turns, but this is a great example of it regardless. it's dark, high-contrast, everyone looks kind of gross. Leading men looking less like a chiseled superhero and more just like normal guys. More like WEIRD guys even.

anyway ok so the content of the movie: it's good! I think the stylistic notes expressed here elevate it beyond just being "yet another crime flick". again, it's gorgeous to look at. the dominos are set up and they fall in a very satisfying way. Things go awry. the music is absolutely balls-to-the-wall amazing. Thank you Tangerine Dream for that. everything in this movie is just dripping in style.

anyway i think the lesson here is simple: when you go on a quest for revenge, simply dig a single grave for your enemies. no need for more than that!