Here we have an interesting story that could've been put on film by guys like Robert Rodriguez and become a minor hit. Which didn't happen, so this film has several drawbacks. The writing and acting is a mixed bag: bigger name actors like Mickey Rourke and Peter Greene stay low-key, whilst the actors we watch for the most of the movie are trying to act all over the place. The more emotional the scenes get, the worse they play out. The photography, lighting and editing is pretty inconsistent: some very decent shots, some very decent cuts, but mostly not. You could say Scott Leet and the gang spent more effort on getting the familiar faces into their movie (the above mentioned Rourke, Greene, Ed Lauter, who was with Rourke in Eureka, and Abraham Benrubi, of ER fame), they really didn't polish their material well enough. The movie is being eaten out by a couple of really annoying characters and scenes. Leet looks like a perfect movie ex-con, but he can't carry the film on his own, since Rourke hides in the shadow, his hair, sunglasses and a cowboy hat for the whole time he's in there - he actually IS a second lead, but he rarely does something with his character. Nevertheless - a nice effort. 5 out of 10.
Review of Out in Fifty
