Payback (1999/I)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Brian Helgeland

Writers:

Donald E. Westlake (novel)
Brian Helgeland (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 February 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

No More Mr. Nice Guy

Plot:

Porter is shot by his wife and best friend and is left to die. When he survives he plots revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Money | Revenge | Robbery | Criminal | Prostitute

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 22	1:00 PM	TNT
Mon. Nov. 23	2:00 AM	TNT

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Porter
Gregg Henry	...	Val Resnick
Maria Bello	...	Rosie
David Paymer	...	Arthur Stegman
Bill Duke	...	Det. Hicks
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Mrs. Lynn Porter
John Glover	...	Phil
William Devane	...	Carter
Lucy Liu	...	Pearl (as Lucy Alexis Liu)
Jack Conley	...	Det. Leary
Kris Kristofferson	...	Bronson
Mark Alfa	...	Johnny's Friend #2
Kwame Amoaku	...	Radioman
Justin Ashforth	...	Michael, Bartender #1
Len Bajenski	...	Fairfax Bodyguard #1

Also Known As:

Porter (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language, and drug and sexual content.

Runtime:

100 min | USA:90 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #36313) | New Zealand:R18 | Iceland:16 | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Philippines:R-18 | Hungary:18 | Italy:VM18 (tv rating) | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Finland:K-16 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 (cut) | Canada:16+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Icon Entertainment International

Trivia:

One major addition to the movie after Brian Helgeland left included 'Kris Kristofferson''s character of the main villain. The re-shoots resulted in a delay of almost one year, because Mel Gibson was committed to Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) right after principal photography ended.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Porter enters Mr. Fairfax's office with his semi-automatic pistol aimed at Fairfax. But he incorrectly holds the gun tilted 90 degrees to the left. Such a hold does not allow proper sight alignment, and could also jam a semi-auto pistol during firing. Nobody familiar with basic pistol operation would grip one in this manner.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Porter: [voiceover] GSW: that's what the hospitals call it: gunshot wound. Doctor has to report it to the police. That makes it hard for guys in my line to get what I call, quality health care.

Movie Connections:

References "The Twilight Zone: The Jeopardy Room (#5.29)" (1964)

Soundtrack:

You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You

Payback & Point Blank

Yes - Payback & Point Blank (1967) are very similar. But there is a very good reason for that. Both films are based on the novel 'The Hunter' by Richard Stark, a pseudonym for Donald E Westlake.

The films share several character names such as Brewster, Carter, Stegman and Fairfax and similar plots. In both cases the anti-hero Porter (or Walker) is trying to recover a sum of money after being double-crossed.

Now, I am a huge fan of Point Blank. It takes a relatively simple plot and makes a bit of cinematic poetry out of it. And if I was forced to compare Lee Marvin and Mel Gibson's performances, then I'm sorry but Gibson would lose big time. However, Payback is a much better film than I thought it would be. There are sufficient differences to make the story interesting and though it is told in a much more straightforward and, dare I say, 'safe' way than Point Blank, it is a very well made film and tells a compelling story well. And it's nice to see Gibson return to a somewhat morally ambiguous character a la Mad Max.