From Dusk Till Dawn

Movie Name: From Dusk Till Dawn
Year of Release: 1996
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Starring: George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Quentin Tarantino, Cheech Marin, Salma Hayek, Danny Trejo, Tom Savini, Fred Williamson, Michael Parks, Brenda Hillhouse, John Saxon, Ernest Liu, Marc Lawrence, Kelly Preston
Genre: Action, Crime, Horror
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
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Synopsis and Review:

After making a name for himself with the low budget "El Mariachi", which put his name on the map as a talent to witness, director Robert Rodriguez quickly followed on his career path with the remake of his first feature, which came in the shape of "Desperado". After the anthology film "Four Rooms", "From Dusk Till Dawn" cemented his collaboration with actor/writer/director Quentin Tarantino, who also wrote the screenplay and acted in the film, from an original story by visual effects veteran, Robert Kurtzman (who has also ventured into directing, with "Wishmaster" to name one of a few). The film follows the story of siblings Seth and Richard Gecko, both of whom are on the run from the law, in the aftermath of a particularly bloody bank heist. As they head to Mexico, they take as hostages a former preacher by the name of Jacob Fuller, who is driving around the country with his two teenage kids, following a traumatic death of his wife. As they reach their point of destination, a colorful bar by the name of Titty Twister, and just as everyone seems to be getting ready to go on their own directions, things get even more challenging for the runaway criminals and their hostages.

Robert Rodriguez's efficient and economical directing style is adequate for this film, where for the most part the characters are briefly characterized and ultimately never gain much dimension to them. There's definitely a B-movie here, only with enough budget and talent to elevate the output. The film starts strongly, even if a bit unevenly, with the two brothers on the run having some traces of Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers", but as the narrative develops, and the hostages come into play, the extra dimension those characters need, is never fully expanded upon. Quentin Tarantino's early career's trademark are quite on display in the first part of the film, however he never truly expands much on the supporting characters, as he's been able to do in his subsequent features. Kate and Scott Fuller for instance, are never more than just the kids of the former preacher, the same way the former preacher doesn't have much of a narrative thread to himself. By the time the third chapter arrives, with the action focusing on the Mexican bar, the film and narrative loses much of its strength, becoming almost like a version of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer", only with more slapstick and with a series of cameos from well known actors from B-films of the 1970s. Overall it's a disjointed experience, with some of Tarantino's influences, and Rodriguez's own perspective clashing more than gelling. The talented cast is also sadly wasted, particularly the always wonderful Juliette Lewis, the same going for the excellent Harvey Keitel. Overall a waste of talent.