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Plot

The third film written and directed by playwright David Mamet, this combination of crime drama and character study stars several of Mamet's stock players. Joe Mantegna stars as Bobby Gold, a detective with a gift for negotiation who, along with his partner Tim Sullivan (William H. Macy), accidentally stumbles upon a crime scene -- the murder of an elderly Jewish woman in her corner store. When it turns out that the victim was politically well-connected and Jewish, Bobby's superiors assign him the case because he's also Jewish. The problem is that Bobby isn't very religious and he resents being taken off a higher profile drug investigation involving a dealer, Randolph (Ving Rhames). Bobby's also highly skeptical when the murdered woman's family claims that her death was not a simple robbery but an anti-Semitic hate crime. As he gets deeper into his case, however, Bobby discovers that a larger conspiracy may be afoot, and he begins to question his own ethnic roots.
MPAA Rating:
R for language and violence.
Genre(s):
Drama,Action
Run Time:
100min.
Theatrical Release Date:
05/14/1995
DVD Release Date:
09/08/2009
Distributor(s):
Triumph
Director(s):
Themes:
Mind Games,Work Ethics,Murder Investigations,Discovering One's Heritage,Crisis of Conscience
Tone:
Cerebral,Confrontational,Gritty,Tense,Bleak,Paranoid,Disturbing,Literate
Keywords:
Jewish,candy-store,conspiracy,drug-dealer,ghetto,hate-crime,investigation,murder,partner,police-detective,shopkeeper
Country of Origin:
USA (10-09-1991)
Language:
English