Homicide (1991)

Director:

David Mamet

Writer (WGA):

David Mamet (written by)

Release Date:

28 August 1991 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Powerful. Provacative. Controversial.

Plot:

A Jewish homicide detective investigates a seemingly minor murder and falls in with a Zionist group as a result.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Racial Slur | Neo Noir | Terrorism | Jewish Cop

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Joe Mantegna	...	Bobby Gold
William H. Macy	...	Tim Sullivan
Vincent Guastaferro	...	Lt. Senna
J.J. Johnston	...	Jilly Curran
Jack Wallace	...	Frank
Lionel Mark Smith	...	Charlie Olcott
Roberta Custer	...	Cathy Bates
Charles Stransky	...	Doug Brown
Bernard Gray	...	James
Paul Butler	...	Commissioner Walker
Colin Stinton	...	Walter B. Wells
Louis Murray	...	Mr. Patterson
Christopher Kaldor	...	Desk Sergeant
Linda Kimbrough	...	Sgt. Green
Robin Spielberg	...	Records Officer

MPAA:

Rated R for language and violence.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Germany:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Bison Films

Trivia:

Mamet's script began as an adaptation of his friend William J. Caunitz's novel "Suspects", but the more Mamet wrote the more his story diverged from the book until it ultimately became an original screenplay.

Goofs:

Continuity: Toward the end of the film, when two policemen take Randolph away from Bob Gold, Bob's right arm is hanging. In the next shot, Bob's right arm is stretched.

Quotes:

Randolph: Don't die with a lie on your lips, homie.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Magnolia (1999)

Excellent film but still a bit of a let-down

Bobby Gold, a jewish homicide detective involved in tracking down a cop killer, stumbles onto the shooting of an elderly jewish lady. Although starting only very reluctantly, he gets drawn deeper and deeper into this second case, eventually getting involved with a militant pro-Israel group which causes him to question his own identity as a Jew. This naturally leads to neglect of the first case. Bad things happen as a result.

If you like Mamet films, then you'll certainly enjoy this one. As is typical, his tight dialogue creates wonderful tensions with a minimum of words and the acting is excellent. Unfortunately, the movie fails to live up to its promise. Part of the blame is in a relatively weak finale and a conclusion which goes by so fast you'll miss it if you blink. The real problem, however, is that we never develop any intimacy with the human relationships and personal conflicts which should be the heart of the movie but instead just end up providing support for the actual events taking place. We should be leaving the theater with the story playing over and over in our minds for some time to come, but instead we leave simply having been entertained and enthralled for the duration of the film. Not a bad thing, but not as good as it could have been.