Kalmia Latifolia

by | Mar 21, 2018 | Kalmia Latifolia

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This World, Then the Fireworks is a 1997 American crime drama film directed by Michael Oblowitz and starring Billy Zane, Gina Gershon, and Sheryl Lee. The screenplay is based on a short story of the same name by Jim Thompson.

Plot

As children, Marty and Carol Lakewood, fraternal twins, witness a brutal murder involving their father. They grow up to become depraved and incestuous adults, living in coastal California in the mid-1950s.

Marty is a skillful journalist, but grows bored with every new job and is easily distracted. When he seduces a young police officer, Lois Archer, and discovers she owns a beach house, Marty sets out to double-cross her and make the property his own.

Carol is a heartless prostitute, willing to go to any lengths to con men out of their money, or make them pay in other ways. Powerless to stop them is Mrs. Lakewood, a weak-willed woman who suspects the terrible truth in her children's relationship, but knows no way to stop it.

Cast

  • Billy Zane as Marty
  • Gina Gershon as Carol
    • Megan Leigh Brown as Young Carol
      • Sloan Cobb as Little Carol
  • Sheryl Lee as Lois
  • Rue McClanahan as Mrs. Lakewood
  • Seymour Cassel as Detective Harris
  • Will Patton as Lieutenant Morgan
  • Richard Edson as Joe
  • Tom Keeley as Lyle
  • William Hootkins as Jake Krutz
  • Philip Loch as Marty Lakewood's Father
  • Elis Imboden as neighbor's Wife
  • Mark Jeffrey Miller as Lloyd
  • Marianna Alacchi as Glenda
  • Robert Pentz as Lou
  • Orson Oblowitz as Eugene
  • Thad Mace as Tim
  • Jonathan Taylor Luthren as Ben
  • Stephanie Fisher as Claire
  • Lou Criscuolo as McCloud
  • Jeffrey Pillars as Galloway
  • John Bennes as Griffith
  • Barry Bell as Barnett Gibons
  • David Lenthall as Doctor
  • Terry Nienhuis as Minister
  • Valentin de Vargas as Mexican Doctor
  • Dean Mumford as Marine
  • Willy Cobbs as Blues Musician
  • Brian Keith Gamble as Spindly Man
  • Mert Hatfield as Bus Driver
  • Matt O'Toole as Thug 1
  • Norman Max Maxwell as Thug 2

Release

This World, Then the Fireworks was released on July 11, 1997 in only five U.S. theaters, grossing US$51,618 in total.[1] It was released on videocassette on June 30, 1998,[2] and on Blu-ray (through Kino Lorber) on November 14, 2017.[3]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 38% approval rating based on 8 reviews, with an average ranking of 3.9/10.[4]

Emanuel Levy of Variety wrote "In the hands of filmmaker Michael Oblowitz, novelist Jim Thompson's story 'This World, Then the Fireworks' gets an elegantly stylish, highly erotic, intentionally over-the-top rendition".[5] Total Film called the film "sexy, stylized, deliberately overheated slice of noir".[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Box office information for This World, Then the Fireworks". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  2. ^ "New on Video: Upcoming releases". The Vindicator. June 25, 1998. p. C5. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  3. ^ Mory, Justin (November 8, 2017). "This World, Then the Fireworks (1997) Blu-ray Review". Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  4. ^ "This World, Then the Fireworks (1997)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  5. ^ McCarthy, Todd (February 1, 1997). "This World, Then the Fireworks". Variety.
  6. ^ "This World, Then the Fireworks Review". Total Film. GamesRadar+. December 5, 1997.

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