REVIEW FILM
Nope. this isn‘t a musical documentary on a jaded Canadian progressive rock band. The ‘rush‘ of the title refers to the chemical charge that kicks through the body when needle meets vein. Set in Texas during the 705. Rush is the sordid tale of two white cops on dope — one recruited straight from the academy (Jennifer Jason Leigh). the other a veteran of the supposedly legal side of the junkie world (Jason Patric). Thrown in at the deep end. she’s got to be willing to cross the line time and time again in order to strengthen her undercover persona and nail those nasty pushers. And. ofcourse. when vision blurs through drug abuse. so does the difference between right and wrong: should cops shoot up. snort. pop pills like
I Rsh: The sordid talef two white cops on dope
sweeties if. at the end ofthe day. they get the baddies off the streets? Kim Wozencraft‘s semi-
; autobiographical novel on which the j film is based is a cracking story of lost :
' innocence. love under pressure and I betrayal at the hands of a politically opportunistic police chief.
1 Unfortunately the film takes these ingredients.cooksthem undera
tepid flame and leaves us feeling that
this was a fairly unfulfilling trip. Perhaps the blame for this can be
laid at the feet ofdirector Lili Fini
i Zanuck. here making her directorial
; debut after producing Driving Miss Daisy. Certainly. when it comes to the film‘s conclusion, there‘s a battle
between what the story demands and | what 90$ Hollywood wants. and I‘m sorry to say it's the studio muscle that ' delivers the knockout punch. But beyond initial disappointment. one is left with the feeling that. having introduced the notion of a fine moral line between criminals and crimefighters. there is no satisfying denunciation of the tactics used. Whatever the other criticisms. the two central performances cannot be faulted. Patric takes the edgy mannerisms of his role in After Dark, My Sweet to their intensely strung-out limits. while Leigh is perfect as a girl caught in a sleazy nightmare where the tension ofthe
I JENNIFER JASON LEIGH
situation is chemically manipulated by little pills for up and other little pills for down. Not as addictive as it could have been. it might have been a classic ifit hadn‘t gone most ofthe way before deciding to just say no. (Alan Morrison)
Rush (18) (Lili Fini Zanuck. US, 1991) Jenniferlason Leigh, Jason Patric, Sam Elliot. 110 mins. Glasgow: Cannon Sauchiehall Street. Edinburgh: UCI. Strathclyde: UCI Clydebank.
Born into an acting family— she is the
daughter of Vic Morrow— Leigh first gained plaudits for her performance as . an anorexic teenager in the TV movie
. The Best Little Girl in the World. Following the college comedy Fast Times At Ridgemont High, she has won J
herself a reputation for on edge characters, playing prostitutes in both . Last Exit To Brooklyn and Miami Blues. Later this year she stars opposite
Bridget Fonda in Single White Female. 0n drugs: ‘l‘ve always had a negative attitude to drugs: one of my best
friends OD-ed on heroin at 23. I know they’re seductive and
dangerous. but what the film taught me is how they affect you physically. What makes it so hard to quit is that
heroin stops your body producing its ; natural opiates. So ifyou stop,
you're literally incapable of feeling
1 joy for about a year. It‘s so hard to
stay straight when you have no
« ability to be happy.‘
On herself: ‘My personal life is pretty controlled. 1 like to know what I‘m
feeling and why. I'm inhibited. shy
and an introvert. And I'm a dreadful liar. which is why in a real life
situation I could never play me being someone else . . . but when I act. because I pour myself into that
person. therapy helps me get back to myself.‘ i
/ WINNER - BEST FOREIGN FILM l GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS
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“DEAII‘IIFIILLY PRDIDRRAPIIED AND ADIED, IRIS AWARD WINNING EPID IS INFDRHAIWE
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