THE SUICIDE KINGS
US, 1997, 106 minutes, Colour.
Christopher Walken, Denis Leary, Sean Patrick Flanery, Henry Thomas, Jay Mohr, Jeremy Sisto, Johnny Galecki, Nina Siemaszko, Cliff De Young.
Directed by Peter O’ Fallon.
The Suicide Kings is an unusual thriller – perhaps in the vein of Reservoir Dogs.
Five young men, comparatively wealthy, suddenly abduct a Mob head and keep him in a mansion. Their plan is for him to find the abducted sister of one of the group and get a ransom of two million dollars.
Christopher Walken plays the abducted Mafia chief, letting his guard down by being friendly with the young men, realising his predicament, keeping calm even when a finger is severed and he has a great deal of bleeding. As he is duct-taped to a chair, he has the opportunity to observe them, see their inexperience, read their individuality, set doubts amongst them and manipulate them. He is also able to speak by phone to his henchmen, Denis Leary and Cliff De Young, to locate the young woman and the kidnappers.
The young men are played by Sean Patrick Flanery as the genial member of the group who is the boyfriend of the abducted woman. Henry Thomas, neurotic, is her brother. Jay Mohr is merciless and angry as the leader with the plan. Jeremy Sisto is calm, even when cutting a finger. Johnny Galecki is neurotic because they are using his parents’ house and he worries about the mess that they are making.
Most of the film focuses on Christopher Walken in the chair and his treatment at the hands of the young men. There are various flashbacks, some of which are misleading and there are several twists before the end.
1.A gangster thriller? A thriller with differences?
2.The world of the young men, the wealthy mansion? The world of gangsters? Restaurants, yachts, apartments? The musical score, the range of songs?
3.The title, card hands, poker games, bluffing?
4.The complexity of the plot, the friends and their characters, the issue of the kidnapping? The abduction of Charlie, keeping him as a hostage, the ransom money, the phone calls, the contacts? The insertion of the flashbacks? Charlie’s suggestion about an inside job, the effect on the men, the various twists, Avery and his confession? The reality of Max’s behaviour? The rescue? The final killing?
5.The focus on Charlie, a Christopher Walken performance, his being tied up most of the time, letting his guard down at the beginning, the genial young men, the contacts, going to for a drink, in the car, his being chloroformed, taken in, tied up? The cutting of his finger? The phone calls to his underlings? The information about an inside job? His talk, insinuations, his suspicions, playing cards? Understanding each of the group, playing them off against each other? Using them? The flashbacks – and a possibility for Christopher Walken to do some dance steps as usual? The rescue, Lono coming and the confrontation with the young men? The killing of the alleged kidnappers? The truth, going to the yacht, killing Max and Elise? A calm and cool Mob boss character?
6.The henchmen, Lono and his manner, with his driver, his ruthlessness, going to the apartment, the guard, his violence towards him? The contrast with the loyal henchman, in the car, getting the information, making the connections? Twenty years? The contrast between the two?
7.The group as a group, their friendship, the bonds, using each other, the lies, the disruption at the end?
8.Max and Elise, Max’s story, Elise’s father, forbidding the marriage, their wanting to get married, the flashback, in the parking lot, the talk, the kidnapping? The sending back of the finger? Max and his being pleasant, sorry about what happened to Charlie, the flashbacks and the anonymous person discussing with the kidnappers, the revelation of the reality of his plan, with Elise? Basing it on Avery’s debts, exploiting it? Getting the two million from Charlie?
9.Ira, his house, fussy, tidying up, suspicious, the gun?
10.T.K., aspiring doctor, drug use, cutting off the finger, his general calm, his medical concern, Max’s bleeding, a touch of compassion, being told about the inside job, talking to Ira? His observing? The issues with the gun?
11.Brett, his plan, angry, rough, dominating, no compassion, his being shot? His not realising the twists with the plot?
12.Avery, Elise’s brother, driving with the abduction, the recklessness, the chase in the tunnel, his observing, the reality of his debts, his plan, his holding the gun? Being desperate?
13.The end, the collapse of the plan? Their behaviour?
14.Charlie, going with his henchmen to the two abductors, killing them, discovering the truth? Elise taking the money? Max and Elise on the yacht, Charlie and Lono arriving, the confession, their deaths?
15.The feel of the film? Sardonic and cynical? An expose of the callousness of the young men? The ruthlessness of the Mob?
